


Beauty and the Boneless

by Luums



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Ivar Imagine, Ivar fanfiction, Rough Sex, Smut, Spanking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-10-17 18:42:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 62,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10599903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luums/pseuds/Luums
Summary: So I kind of made my own timeline up with this. Begins after the Great Heathen Army invasion, but before Sigurd is killed.





	1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE

Ivar pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and slowly sipped his ale as he watched Ubbe grab one of the servants and pull her into his lap. The girl let out an ear-piercing screech, and feigned pushing him away, but Ivar had seen her excited smile, and the way her legs opened as Ubbe’s hands began to wander up her thighs. Hvitserk sat on the wooden chair behind, a shield maiden they had raided with only a day earlier straddled around his waist, unashamedly squeezing the growing bulge in his breeches. Ivar couldn’t see Sigurd, but that only meant he had charmed the slave girl he had bought along to join him in his tent. Ivar scowled, he couldn’t stomach watching anymore. He flung his goblet down angrily and crawled through the campsite to his makeshift bed, trying to cloak his ears with sheepskin so he no longer had to listen to the celebratory noises coming from the encampment.  
Tomorrow, they would reach the Saxon town of Hereford to meet with its Earl. Bjorn had convinced his other brothers that they should make terms with this Christian. He was offering them more gold and land than they could ever have imagined, and all the Earl wanted in return was their guarantee of peace in his province. It was a good deal, but Ivar could never trust a Saxon to keep his word. The only honourable Christian, was a dead Christian.

 

CHAPTER ONE: Part One

“Where is my daughter?”

The guards looked from one another nervously, neither wanting to be the one to tell him that she had disappeared again, today of all days. One was nudged roughly by the other and coughed loudly, clearing his throat, “We er…we can’t find her, my Lord”

“You can’t find her? What do you mean you ca-How has she escaped your watch again? I told you to not let her out of your sight!” The Earl threw his hands in the air as he paced the Great Hall, the anxiety he was already feeling about the day ahead had just reached its limit and he sat down tiredly on the chair closest to him, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. There was the sound of a commotion outside, then a young servant came running into the hall, closely followed by more soldiers, “They are here, my Lord” He panted breathlessly, “The north-men are here”

A guard hit the boy across the back of the head and sent him on his way, before bowing his head lightly to the Earl, “They are awaiting your presence in the courtyard, my Lord”

The Earl jumped to his feet, wringing his hands together nervously, “Take me to them”, he said, trying to disguise the shakiness of his voice, as he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other and follow his men to the courtyard

“And find my daughter!” He barked at the guards as he walked passed them, “That girl is going to be the death of me I am sure of it. I shall be the first man to die from exasperation” he muttered to himself. 

Elena watched open-mouthed and half hidden behind the door, as the Vikings filled into the courtyard. It was a small group, no more than thirty men, but they were fiercer than any Saxon army she had ever seen. She itched to get closer. Her eyes wandered to the man sat in the chariot as he effortlessly tossed an axe from one hand to the other, watching the Saxon guards with such loathing that it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. As though sensing he was being watched, he suddenly turned his head to look straight at her, startled by his unexpected gaze, she gasped and jumped behind the door, pressing her back against the stone wall inside the castle.

Her heart thudded loudly in her chest and she could feel the blush rising to her cheeks in embarrassment at being caught. Slowly, she began to peer around the door again, only to find he was still staring in her direction, a cocky smirk planted on his lips as he leaned forward, still flipping his axe around playfully. She wanted to hide again, her face was burning from his stare. She didn’t know if it was curiosity she saw in his eyes, or hostility, but she couldn’t do anything but stare back as he rolled his tongue around the inside of his mouth.

“Where have you been?! I have men searching the whole of Hereford itself looking for you! Did I not tell you to stay where I could easily find you? Do you take pleasure in disobeying me?”

Elena jumped at the sound of her Father’s voice behind her, and she was snapped out of the trance that the young Viking seemed to have put her under, “Father” she said, feeling her cheeks returning to their normal colour, “I have been here, standing by the door. There couldn’t have _been_ an easier place to find me”

The Earl raised a sceptical eyebrow in the direction of his daughter, and she returned his expression with an apologetic smirk, “Well, I have been here for a little while at least” she shrugged. The Earl smiled back, he had come to terms with his inability to stay cross at his daughter a long time ago, “Come then, it is time we greeted our guests”

They walked out into the courtyard, her Fathers men following closely behind, the distrustful eyes of the Vikings all watching their every step. They were met by a tall, fair haired man, who’s braided ponytail ended near the centre of his back, a scowling expression across his features as he walked. He stood in front of them, speaking in broken English as her Father spoke back and Elena’s eyes drifted back to chariot, but the man was no longer there and she felt a pang of disappointment as she looked into the empty carriage. She heard her name and turned back to the conversation at hand, they had been joined by three other men who stood behind him with similar expressions, though they seemed more interested in staring down the guards surrounding them. Just then, a man crawled through the legs of the men in front of her and came to a halt besides the fair-haired Viking, glaring up at her Father. It was the man from the chariot, and she realised immediately who he was. The infamous crippled son of Ragnar Lothbrok. She had heard rumours of him, Ivar the Boneless they called him. She had heard her Fathers men laugh at the idea of him, the cripple who had led the Great Army to the north. Yet now he was here in front of them, no one was laughing.

Part Two

She had wanted to stay, had wanted to sit in the Hall and listen to the Vikings as they spoke of land and other riches to her Father. She wanted to hear them speak her mother’s language, it had been so long since she had heard those words, and more importantly, she wanted to see _them_. Her mother had always spoke of Viking men, how different they were to the English. How much more untamed, and barbaric they were. And _animalistic_ , she would whisper when her Father was out of earshot. She had wanted to see more of them than just the brief conversation she had in the courtyard, but she had been sent to her chambers with the other women. And now, hours later, the castle was sleeping and Elena was bouncing on the balls of her feet, waiting until she could make her nightly escape.

As a child, Elena had always wanted to play outside with the villager’s children, she would watch them from the windows of the castle, and wish she was out there with them. She knew she was a faster runner than all of the boys, and she bet that she could beat most of them at toy sword fighting as well.  
It had taken her a long time to persuade her overprotective Father to let her leave the confines of the castle grounds, and she remembered the way she felt the first time she had been allowed outside the gates. And she remembered the way the villagers looked at her, and how they had dragged their children away from her, shutting their doors as she walked past as though she would hex them if she looked upon them too long. 

Her Father had seen the reactions of the villagers, and had tried desperately to make her stay inside from then on, but her mother always said she had a Vikings heart, and a few mean words and hostile stares wouldn't bother her. She would still go out, day after day, smiling at the frightened villagers, pretending to curse anyone who dared say anything to her. Until one day, one of the older boys began to taunt her, spitting at her feet, throwing stones at her, calling her a witch and a heathen. She had warned him to go away, she had told him that she wasn’t afraid of him and to leave her alone, but he wouldn’t. Then he had pushed her. And he had kept on pushing her until eventually she pushed back. Only he fell backwards, and his head had collided with a rock that lay on the floor behind him. 

Elena stood over him and watched as the blood poured from his skull, and his jaw went slack. She didn’t call for help, she didn’t _want_ to help him, and when the villagers had found them they didn’t believe her story. That a girl as small as she could have overpowered a boy the size of him. And if they didn’t believe the rumours of her being a witch before, they did from that day on. 

Her Father insisted on keeping guards beside her always after that, and especially after her Mother died. She was never allowed to venture further than the courtyard. She spent most of her time inside the castle, making up adventures in her head, having imaginary sword fights with the unused shields and coats of armour on the walls. Trying to count how many rooms and windows the castle had in total, each time coming back with a different number. Elena knew the inside of the castle better than anyone, and she knew parts even her Father didn’t know existed. She knew that there were unknown, secret doors in almost every room in the castle, most leading to the room next door. She knew about the spiralling stairs disguised as a vault, hidden behind an ancient tapestry, that would take you to the kitchen, and she knew that at the back of the unused fireplace in the kitchen, there was a passageway, pitch-black and damp, that led to a concealed trapdoor in the woods outside the castle grounds. She also knew when the guards on duty around the castle would swap shifts with the next men, and exactly how long it took for them to get back to their station, which coincidentally was around the same time it took for Elena to run from her chambers, down to the kitchen and into the passageway. 

That night there were more guards than usual, and she smiled to herself knowing it was because of the Vikings presence, their encampment not being far from the village. The soldiers could be as proud as they liked, but she had seen the fear on their faces in the courtyard that afternoon. The guards had congregated in the foyer that led to the kitchen, but they were so consumed in gossiping like old women that she had managed to sneak past with ease. And once she had slid herself behind the fireplace she no longer had to worry about being seen. The passageway was the worst part of her journey outside, even though she had walked through it hundreds of times, and knew exactly how many steps it took until she reached the woods, 648 to be exact, the place still gave her an uneasy feeling. Whether it was because of how truly dark it was, she saw nothing until she reached the dim moonlight in the woods at opening, or because the silence never really seemed that silent. She always promised herself that one day she would bring a torch with her, but she still hadn’t thought of a way to get through the castle with fire in her hand without being seen.  
She walked lightly, her hand trailing along the damp stone as it always did, until she saw the moonlight shining down through the gaps in the trap door above. The hardest part was pushing the heavy wooden door away and pulling herself up through the ground, but she always managed it, breathless as she was by the end of it. She dusted off her nightdress as she straightened herself out, relieved to be out of the passageway, and began to walk through the woods, towards the same place she went every night. Her mother’s cabin. 

Her mother had been a Viking settler, then a servant to her Father when they had fallen in love. To marry, she had to renounce her pagan Gods, and publicly convert to Christianity, not that it stopped the townspeople from despising her and labelling her as a witch. But she only had to be Christian when she was in sight of everyone else. At home, her Father would allow her to do as she wished, eventually building her a cabin in the woods, a private place for her to go and worship her own Gods, or just to feel like she was back home. Now she was gone, Elena would go there just to feel close to her again. Some nights she would stay no longer than a few minutes, walking in and out before heading back, other nights she would stay until dawn was breaking.

Tonight, something felt different as she walked towards the cabin. She looked around the clearing, squinting her eyes but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She shrugged to herself as she pushed on the door of the cabin, but it didn’t swing open as it usually would, and she hissed loudly as her head collided with the wood. She stepped backwards, and looked up and down at the door, as though not believing that it hadn’t opened. She tried again, but still it wouldn’t open. She didn’t understand, it was as though there was something propped against the other side to stop someone from getting in. Except, only her Father and herself even knew of the cabins existence. She braced herself and pushed with as much strength as she could muster, if anyone was in there she wanted to know who they were, and why they were in her mother’s cabin. The door suddenly gave way and she crashed onto the floor, her bottom lip erupting as it smashed into both the splintered floorboards and her own front teeth. Her arm scraped painfully along an upended iron nail, and she barely had time to comprehend what had just happened when she was flipped onto her stomach and her arms pulled viciously behind her back. Her body was then pinned to the floor as somebody climbed on top of her, her wrists held together with just one hand as the other held something sharp and metallic under her chin. She couldn’t breathe, she didn’t know what was happening, all she could think was that she was about to be raped, and then he would probably kill her. She had heard of that happening to women almost daily. She was in so much shock that she didn’t even fight whoever it was off, she lay still and silent, waiting for whatever came next.

“What are you doing here, Christian?” a deep voice hissed, so close to her ear that his hot breath left her pale skin damp with condensation. She was barely given a minute to answer, to wonder why someone wanted to know why she was in her own cabin when the sharp edge was pushed up further into the flesh between her chin and throat, “Answer me!”

“I…I..” Elena stuttered, she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to say it, the right words weren’t forming in her mind. Then the point was pushed even further and she felt a sharp pain and a thin line of blood began to trickle down her neck, and a flurry of words suddenly came rushing from her mouth, “This is my cabin. It is mine! Who are you? No one is supposed to be here. What are you doing here?” She snapped, trying to wriggle her hands free, but whoever it was had a death-like grip around her wrists and she couldn’t shift. She felt the point under her chin drop slightly and took advantage by trying to turn her head to see who was on top of her but she could see nothing but the outline of his face in the dark.

“What do you mean this place is yours?”, the voice barked, “This place is Viking”

“My mother was Viking it belonged to her-now will you get off me? If you do anything to me I have men waiting outside and they will … they will _kill_ you” She tried to sound as threatening as her voice would allow, and for a moment as she felt the man’s body slowly begin to move off her, she thought it had worked, that she had frightened him away, until she heard him scoff loudly, “If there was anyone outside they would have come to your rescue the moment you crashed through the door like a wild boar”

He climbed off and finally released her arms, Elena scrambled to her feet and turned to look at who her attacker was. She gasped loudly, earning a glower from the man below her. The cabin was lit only by a few candles, but it was enough to see his blue eyes glaring at her as he pulled himself onto the bed, “Did your mother never tell you that it was rude to stare?” He snarled, “Especially at a cripple with a spear in his hands”

“I wasn’t staring I was…” Elena stopped, she couldn’t lie, she was absolutely staring. She coughed loudly, hoping he didn’t notice her falter, “I just didn’t realise it was you, that is all”

Ivar stayed silent, his lips pursed together as he tightened the belts around his legs, “What are you doing here?”, Elena asked, folding her arms cross her chest in a feigned gesture of confidence, when really her stomach was doing somersaults, and her skin tingling wildly where he had been lay on her moments before. He didn’t look up at her as he fidgeted with his legs, and Elena thought he was purposely ignoring her until he climbed from the bed, “It does not matter, I am leaving” he said.

Without thinking, Elena had jumped in front of him forcing him to stop, “No!”, she yelped, before realising what she had done and cleared her throat nervously, her cheeks burning in embarrassment, “I mean…You should stay…. It’s fine. I was leaving, I have to go back to the castle, so…” She looked down at him through her eyelashes, he was frowning at her in a look of utter distaste, and her whole face turned an even brighter shade of red, “I’m going”, she said quickly, and scampered quickly from the cabin, as Ivar watched her curiously. 

Elena had ran back to the castle without stopping, paying no attention to the guards that shouted her down the hallway as she ran past them back to her chambers. She could hardly sleep that night, no matter how hard she tried, she was restless and kept replaying what had happened over and over in her mind. Surely, after being attacked by the Viking in her own cabin she should be angry, not juiced up, wishing she could do it all again. And when she awoke the next morning, she had her servant Edyth dress her in one of her finest gowns, the one her Father always wished she would wear but would always refuse, and pin her hair in a way usually saved for celebrations. But Ivar didn’t return to the castle when his brothers did that day, nor did he show up at the cabin again that night. Nor for the next five nights. And Elena cursed herself every night that she made Edyth leave her hair pinned up before she made her way to the cabin, pitying herself for acting like such a foolish woman, desperate just to be in the company of a Viking who had done nothing more than threaten her with a spear end.


	2. Chapter 2

“Brother, these Christian women are easier to bed than a penniless whore” Ubbe declared as he slammed his goblet onto the wooden table, ale sloshing from the cup, “My cock has friction burns I have had so many”

“I had two in my bed last night” Hvitserk nodded, grinning widely at his brothers

“The Saxon I bedded told me that the men were threatening to flog any woman caught even talking to one of us” Sigurd said, “I think they like to play with fire here in England”

“I think that English men just don’t know how to truly satisfy a woman” Ubbe smiled. “They need a Viking man to make them scream”

Ivar watched as his brothers erupted into laughter, all but him and Bjorn. He scowled at them, “I would rather bathe in my own piss than bed a Christian” he spat

“You would never be given the chance to” Sigurd mumbled as he put his cup to his mouth, swallowing the rest of the liquid inside, 

“Quiet, Sigurd. ” Ubbe said, changing the subject quickly before either of his younger brothers could start their bickering “When will they be back from their church, Bjorn? The Earl, and his men?”

“Whenever they are finished worshipping their God” Bjorn grunted, uninterested in his younger brothers’ buffoonery, he wanted to talk more of land and he wanted to eat, then he wanted to go home.

“We should burn it down while they are all in one place” Ivar growled

“We are here to make peace and get land for our people, do you want an army of Saxons to come down on the settlement the instant our boats leave their shores?” Bjorn spoke quietly, but there was always a warning in his voice that everyone but Ivar acknowledged,

“Since when did Vikings want peace, Bjorn?” Ivar chided as his brother glared at him through the corner of his eyes. He hadn’t had chance to reply before Elena and her Father came bounding into the hall, arguing loudly with each other. They didn’t seem to realise that the Ragnarssons were there in the hall with them, watching them,

“I am not going!” Elena shouted, as she stopped and turned to face her Father who had been chasing after her, she was of a similar height to him, and their eyes were almost level as she faced him, “You have never made me go in the past, and I am not going now!”

“That was before you had a Christian husband” The Earl replied, quieter but the strain obvious in his voice

“He is not my husband yet” Elena spat

“And he will never be if you don’t show that you can be a good Christian wife”

“But I am _not_ a Christian!! I don’t believe in your stupid God! I never have!”

“Be quiet, Elena” The Earl hissed, trying to grip his daughters shoulders, but she batted him away angrily

“Get off me!” she yelled, “I don’t want to marry that vile man anyway, and I am not going to sit in that wretched church with a bunch of miserable Christians who all wish I would have been drowned at birth, just to impress him”

“Ele-“

“ **No!** ” Elena screamed, interrupting him and grabbing a flagon of wine from the table besides them and throwing it across the room angrily, just then she saw the Ragnarssons sat on the furthest table, watching her intently, and unashamed to be caught doing so. Her eyes were immediately drawn to Ivar, who was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a curious expression, but she was too caught up in her temper that she didn’t care. She stormed from the hall, and away from her Father, ignoring his yells of protest behind her. The Earl looked to the brothers apologetically and bowed lightly, before scurrying out in the opposite direction to his daughter and back towards the chapel.

“A non-christian Saxon?” Ubbe grinned, looking back at his brothers in amusement

“One of the men heard she was a witch” Hvitserk said, leaning forward on his elbows, “That when she was younger she killed a boy without even touching him”

Ivar rolled his eyes, he didn’t believe in witchcraft, and even if he did, they didn’t frighten him.

“She looks like a witch” Sigurd remarked, glaring at the door that she had walked out of, “I believe it. I heard her mother was a witch also”

“Her mother was Viking. Like us” Ivar snapped

“How do you know this?” Sigurd sneered

“Because she told me, Sigurd” Ivar said sarcastically, ignoring the stares he knew his brothers were giving him. He could see them all itching to ask when he had had a conversation with the Saxon, and he didn’t feel like telling them about what had happened five nights ago. 

 

Elena had hid herself in the cabin for the rest of the day, afraid she would throw more than a flagon of wine if her future husband’s name, or attending church was mentioned again. But now it was growing dark, and if she didn’t show her face at the castle soon, it wouldn’t be long before her Father would send his entire army of Saxons searching the woods for her. Though he knew where she would be, he also knew the sounds of guards anywhere near her mother’s cabin would bring her out of hiding.

They were still drinking and feasting in the castle. Elena leant against the stone wall, her empty goblet of wine in hand, and watched as two of her Father’s most insufferable guards looked at Ivar, sneering and whispering to each other like teenage girls. She felt a rush of anger for the Viking, and wondered what they would do if she emptied the contents of her chalice over them. But she didn’t have to, she smiled in satisfaction when she saw his brother Ubbe purposefully crash into them as he walked past, their drinks splashing across their feet and the stone floor. Ubbe held his hands up, grinning in a mock apology before turning to his brother who had climbed onto the stool besides the window, seemingly unaware of what had happened behind him, or so used to it that he no longer cared. 

The tension between the Vikings and the Saxons was almost suffocating, having them all together in the same Hall seemed a dangerous decision on her Father’s part, she knew it wouldn’t be long before tempers reached boiling point and a brawl finally broke out. Elena looked towards Ivar and his brother again as they watched the two guards, grinning cockily at them, and suspected they would have a part in it. She quickly poured herself more wine whilst her Father was preoccupied and promptly hurried away before the guards he had set to spy on her could see. 

She found refuge in the empty courtyard, sitting on the uneven stone wall of the well. It was a rare night in England, the moon was bright, and the small breath of wind that blew across the land was warm. Elena let her head fall back as she closed her eyes, it was even more rare for her to be outside and not have to ignore the horrid whispers and nasty glares from the people around her. She felt their presence before she saw them and turned her head to see the same two guards from the Hall, walking into the courtyard, and rolled her eyes, realising they were also the ones whose duty it was to ensure Elena didn’t go missing again. She narrowed her eyes at them, making sure that they knew she didn’t like them before turning back around and pretending that they weren’t there. Which was hard, when they insisted on leaning against the outer walls of the gatehouse that stood directly opposite her.

It wasn’t long after that she heard Norse speaking voices and turned again to see Ivar crawling into the courtyard with his brother Ubbe at his side. Instinctively, she looked back to the two guards, who had also noticed the Vikings, and were now stood to attention, their previous encounter still not yet forgotten. Elena watched as the two Vikings walked past the Saxons and sipped her wine warily just as one of the guards made a cutting remark about Ivar’s disability, not knowing the crippled Viking understood English. In seconds Ivar had turned and knocked the Saxon off his feet with the hilt of his axe, he fell with a crash onto his back, while Ivar sunk his elbow into the man’s stomach with such force that the man sputtered, his breath knocked out of him. 

Meanwhile, the other guard had sprung forward, reaching for his sword only to be pushed back by Ubbe swinging his axe, holding it at his neck threateningly while Ivar pulled his dagger from his boot and crawled up the panting man’s chest, 

“It is dangerous to disrespect a Viking”, he murmured as he dragged the blade across his cheek, leaving a thin line of blood trailing over his skin, “Especially one who would take such pleasure in peeling your flesh from your bones”

Elena felt a heat rising from the pit of her stomach as she watched the confrontation and the way the crippled Viking held the knife above his victims face menacingly. She knew he meant every word he spoke. Both Saxons held their hands up in surrender, and the Vikings released them at the same time, laughing to each other as they meandered away, making no effort to hurry. 

Elena gasped as she saw the man on the ground scramble to his feet and pull his sword from its sheath. Without thinking, she seized the first thing she saw, a loose stone from the well, large and heavy, but small enough to hold in one hand, and threw it with as much force as her slender arms would allow. 

“Look out!” she shouted, as the guard brought his sword above his head, and began to swing his sword in the direction of Ivar, at the same time that the stone connected with his skull. Ivar and Ubbe turned, just in time to see the man wield his sword only to drop it seconds later as his head snapped to the side. 

The guard put his hand to the back of his head then held it out in front of him. It was soaked in blood. Ivar and Ubbe were gripping their axes ready for more conflict, but the Saxons only looked at them and turned away, defeated once more.

“Pagan whore” the bleeding guard said, spitting at her feet as they walked past and Elena stuck her tongue out childishly in return. She watched them walk back into the castle then turned back to the Vikings, stopping suddenly as she saw they were both staring at her, “Why is it always the virgin they brand a whore?” she said nervously, Ubbe smirked and kicked Ivar gently in the side as they continued to stare silently at her. She coughed and turned quickly, and walked back into the castle before her Father realised she was gone. She could feel the two pair of eyes burning into her back as she walked and cursed out loud as she tripped over the small step in the entrance. 

“Do not tell Hvitserk that she is a virgin” Ubbe said to Ivar through the corner of his mouth, as they watched Elena disappear into castle, “I cannot afford to lose another bet to our brother”


	3. Chapter 3

The castle was finally asleep and, as always, Elena was creeping through its halls, making her way to the kitchen. She reached the entrance and had to quickly hide behind a wall when she saw the group of guards still drinking last night’s ale on the scullery table, she knew by now that there would a guard back roaming the hall outside her chambers, so she couldn’t turn back, and the only place she could hide was the Great Hall. It was pitch black, but she stumbled her way to a hidden table, where she could see anyone who walked by, but they wouldn’t be able to see her. 

She sat, waiting impatiently for the sound of the guards disappearing. She waited for a long time. If she was caught trying to leave her Father would surely start locking her chambers at night. She tensed suddenly as she saw something crawl past the entrance. She stood up, trying to peer her head around to see what it was, but it was too dark, and she was too far away, so she crept softly across the stone floor and towards the open door, looking around the wall and down the corridor. She was sure she saw two feet dragging along the ground as they turned a corner and she hurried to catch up. 

It was Ivar. She could see him pulling himself along through the castle. She wondered what he was doing there, when the rest of the Vikings had left hours ago, all preferring to stay in the encampment they had set up not far from the village. He seemed to be heading towards the noble’s quarters, where men of importance, and the head guardsmen slept. She padded softly behind him, making sure to keep a wide enough distance between them. She watched him turn another corner, and tip-toed quickly to keep up, but when she turned he had disappeared. She walked forward cautiously, looking around for any sign of him, when suddenly she felt a something grip the back of her knee and squeeze painfully, forcing her to bend her leg fall to the floor. He was behind her, an arm across her chest and a dagger to her throat before she had time to realise what had happened,

“I am starting to think you want me to kill you” he hissed into her ear, “Why are you following me?”

Elena knew she should be afraid, and she was, but she found herself panting heavily not through fear, but excitement at the Viking pressing against her back, his arm brushing against her breasts and his lips briefly touching her skin, “I wanted to know what you were doing”, she breathed.

His arm went slack, and he pushed her onto the floor away from him. He looked at her in irritation as she rubbed her neck where his knife had been pressed, he clucked his tongue, “I was hoping to find a Saxon friend of mine, we have some…. unfinished business”

Elena stared at him from where she was knelt, watching him slide his dagger back but keeping hold of its hilt as he spoke, “Do you mean Erwyn?”, she asked, “The guard from…. from before?” 

Ivar continued to look at her, scanning her features in the dark, becoming more and more curious about who she was. This Christian who wasn’t a Christian. A Saxon who was part Viking. And a frail little virgin who wasn’t afraid of him, “What are you going to do to him?” she asked as she looked to the axe at his side and back to his dark face.

He shrugged, “He tried to kill me whilst my back was turned, I was going to show him the same curtesy.” 

Ivar didn’t know why he was telling this Saxon girl, why he hadn’t killed her already or why he was still talking to her instead of turning and leaving to do what he had planned to do. She stood up, and he wondered if she was going to start screaming for help, “Well you won’t find him in the castle”, she said, brushing down her dress, “He sleeps in the village”.  
She paused, biting her lip as she looked down at Ivar, “The hut closest to the stables. He sleeps alone” Ivar watched as she turned the corner, his tongue pushed under his bottom lip to stop the smile that threatened to appear.

Elena didn’t go to the cabin that night, instead she found her way back to her bed. And for the first time in her life she touched herself. She lay on her back, slowly lifted her nightgown, and slid her fingers in between her legs, pretending it was Ivar’s hand that was caressing her. 

She stopped suddenly, realising what she was doing to herself and covered her face with her hands in shame, “ _What am I doing?_ ” she groaned. Her feelings were confusing to the point of exhaustion. She had known the crippled Viking barely over a week, and the only one on one contact they’d had was him holding a weapon to her throat. Twice. She told herself it was because she was so isolated, that the smallest bit of contact with anyone would have had her feeling the same way. But that didn’t stop her from thinking about him all night, or standing at the window with hopes of seeing him crawling across the ground back to his camp. 

 

She walked through the Hall the next day, where the Ragnarssons sat with her Father and his nobles, draft land ownership papers spread messily across the table. She saw Ivar look up at her, watching her as she strolled across the floor. Ivar watched as she smiled briefly at him, and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and he wondered if that really was because of him. 

She walked up to Erwyn, who stood to attention at the end of the table, his face swollen and bruised, a cut across his cheek and a painful looking gash under his chin, that he was trying unsuccessfully to hide under his tunic. Elena stroked a finger down his cheek and pouted theatrically, “This looks painful, Erwyn. What happened, piss off the wrong Northman?” Erwyn scowled but forced himself to keep looking forward. Elena couldn’t help but laugh at his face, becoming redder the longer she watched him. She turned to see Ivar smirking at her, and felt her own face flushing a similar colour as she walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

Elena let herself fall carelessly backwards onto the bed in her mother’s cabin. She closed her eyes and sighed as the faint smell of dried fennel leaves drifted up to her nose. Her mother always kept them under the bed, Elena wished she could replace them with fresh ones, but she had never paid attention when her mother would tell her of the different plants that grew on the land. She was always more interested in playing with her bow and arrow, though it was always too big for her to hold, and her mother would always refuse to teach her how to use it properly. 

The memory of it made her sit up and cross the room to fetch it, she picked it up and ran her hand along the wood, tracing her finger across where her mother had carved her initials. She grabbed the arrows that lay next to it and walked outside, shaking her head, it was already too dark to aim properly but at least that would give her an excuse for how terrible she was. 

She looked at the tree that she used to watch her mother shoot at, pulled the arrow back in the bow, and released. The arrow flopped to her feet, and she growled in irritation, snatching the arrow up, and tried to shoot again. It flew this time, landing at gracelessly three feet in front of her. She grabbed another arrow and squinted at the tree, levelling the arrow then letting go. It fell sideways, bouncing off her shoulder, and landing on the ground. She screamed in anger, kicking the arrow away and throwing the bow across the clearing.

“Maybe if you cried a little louder your wet-nurse will come tend to you” 

Elena jumped and turned towards the voice. It was Ivar. He lay stooped on the at the edge of the trees, looking at her cockily, Elena narrowed her eyes at him, “I wasn’t crying”

Ivar pursed his lips, “Okay” he smirked as he crawled further into the clearing towards the cabin.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, she hadn’t expected to see him there, he hadn’t turned up to the cabin since the first night they met, and she didn’t think he would be coming back. She brushed her hair behind her ear self-consciously and felt a sudden flush of embarrassment at having been caught in the middle of a temper tantrum.

“My brothers are drunk” He shrugged, pulling himself onto the wooden bench outside the cabin. Elena didn’t realise she was watching him, until he looked back at her with narrowed eyes, “Carry on” he muttered, flicking his hands at her, gesturing for her to turn around as he fidgeted with his boots.

Elena huffed and walked across the clearing towards the discarded bow and arrow from the floor, grumbling under her breath as she did so. She crouched over the weapon, and began to snatch them up from the ground angrily, and as she stood an arrow whizzed past her ear. She gasped loudly in shock, and looked at Ivar. He smirked menacingly at her and she barely had time to take a step forward when he let loose another, this time going over her head, so close she felt the breeze from it on her scalp. 

She glared at the Viking and tried to keep the look of fear from her face as she walked forward, forcing her legs to not run. She refused to look at him as she walked inside, throwing her mother’s weapon onto the table opposite. It was then that she noticed the dagger, she picked it up and walked outside, sitting beside Ivar on the bench. He had to force himself to concentrate on looking forward as she sat down next to him, her warm scent wafting around his nose, making him tense as goose-bumps rose across his skin.

“I want you to help me”, she said suddenly, flipping the dagger around in her hand clumsily. 

Ivar turned his head to look at her as she almost sliced her index finger off, and scoffed loudly, “And tell me Saxon, why would I help you?”

“I want to be able to protect myself”, she said, this time not looking at Ivar but at the dagger in her hand,

He looked briefly at where she was staring before looking back to her, “Then ask one of your Christian guards”

“But I am asking you, _Ivar the Boneless_ ” she smirked

Ivar shook his head and ignored her, whenever he looked at Elena he was always reminded of his failures as a man. If the girl only knew of the thoughts he had about her when he was alone, she would hide in her chambers until the day he left. He could feel her staring at him as he pulled his axe from his belt, spit shining it with the hem of his tunic, but he couldn’t look back. 

Elena glared at him, feeling her anger boil at his ignorance, “Thank you... Thank you for all your help. I almost wish I could have done more than save your life yesterday. Maybe I can stand by that tree over there and you could use me as target practice?”, she huffed, folding her arms across her chest and kicking a stone across the ground angrily

This time Ivar could do nothing but look, the ghost of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth, “Your temper is almost as short as mine”, he said, as he snatched the knife from her hands, “This is unusable”, he muttered, turning the dagger over in his hands, looking at it in disdain, “This would leave barely even a graze, and you think I can teach you how to kill?”

“It was my mother’s” she said, “And I never spoke of killing anyone”

“Then tell me what exactly do you want me to show you?” 

Elena shrugged, “I just want to be able to protect myself, if the need arises”

Ivar narrowed his eyes at the girl besides him, “What need would arise?”

“I am soon to be married” she said simply. 

Ivar watched her, waiting for her to continue, but she didn’t speak, “That is it? You are to be married?”

“Yes”

“You wish to protect yourself from your husband?”

“Yes” 

Ivar arched an eyebrow at Elena perplexedly, she looked back and sighed, “He is unkind. To women especially. He is said to have cut out his last wife’s tongue because she dared speak back to him” she explained “ And I like my tongue where it is”

“Then you are stupid for marrying him."

“It is my Father’s choice, not mine”

“And why would a Father make his daughter marry such a man?” 

“I do not think he knows of his character” Elena muttered, wringing her hands together and fidgeting with the material of her dress, “He says I must marry a Christian, to secure my future. Everyone in my town believes me to be a pagan, or a witch. Or both. He says the only way to ensure they do not drown me in the river the moment he dies is to have me marry a powerful Christian man”

Ivar watched her, he stared at her profile as she looked down to her hands, observing the shape of her lips, how her top lip was bigger than the bottom, how it hung over just slightly making it look like she was pouting. His eyes moved down her neck, the tiny nick still visible where his knife had pressed into her skin days before, then his gaze finally falling on her breasts. He watched, transfixed as her small cleavage moved up and down with every breath. She turned her head, catching him staring and he bowed his head quickly and began to scowl, “There is no skill in using a dagger. There is nothing to be taught”, he snapped, and held up Elena’s dagger, “And this is a child’s toy”

“Then give it back” she said, reaching for the knife, but Ivar was too quick and pulled his hand away before she could grab it, leaving her leaning over his body. She leaned her face towards his, so their noses were almost touching and slowly reached for the axe that his slackening hand was losing its grip on. Ivar was rooted to his seat as she drew in closer to him, unable to do anything but watch her lips get that much closer to his own. Then she pulled away quickly, taking his axe with her and stepping out of the way before he could snatch it back. Ivar glared angrily at her, watching as she tossed his axe from one hand to the other, “Maybe you could teach me to use this then”, she said smugly.

“It is not exactly a subtle weapon” he said through gritted teeth, “It is not something you can hide from your husband under your pillow at night”

Elena shrugged, “Maybe I don’t want subtle”

“And maybe your husband will have it out of your hands before you can stop him”

“Or maybe”, she said stepping closer to him and slowly pressing the axe against his neck. She felt her stomach flip excitedly as she saw him smirk, “I will have his head, before _he_ can stop _me_ ”

“Your malnourished arms wouldn’t have the strength” He mumbled, the feel of the cool metal against his skin, and the look on Elena’s face sending shivers down his spine.  
Elena opened her mouth to reply, but Ivar grabbed her wrist, forcing her to drop the axe, which he caught effortlessly with his free hand, before twisting her arm round to her back and pulling her body round so her back was pressed against his chest. 

One hand holding her arm, the other wrapped around her neck, “See”, he whispered into her ear and Elena felt the heat rising from her neck up to her cheeks at his touch, she could feel his breath on her skin and felt overwhelmed with the urge to turn her face and press her lips against his, but he pushed her away roughly before she had the chance.  
She wondered briefly if he knew what it was she wanted to do, and that was why he had pushed her away, and her face burned in embarrassment. Her eyes moved from him to what lay besides him, “What are they?” She asked, eager to change the subject and move on from the awkward silence that now lay between them.

He looked down to where she was looking and raised his eyebrow, “If you have to ask what they are then it is useless asking me to teach you anything”

“Can I?” She asked, stepping forward and picking up the sword that lay beside the bench, it was heavier than she had thought it would be and she held it up above her head, watching the moonlight glint off the steel. 

Ivar grabbed the shield that was by his legs and held it in front of his chest, “Come then, Saxon. Entertain me” He smirked cockily. She grabbed the hilt with two hands and pointed it towards Ivar, ignoring his snort of laughter and trying to stand in the same way she had watched her Fathers soldiers do in practice.

Ivar swung his shield, knocking the sword from her hands. It landed in the grass besides her feet and she quickly picked it back up and held it in front of herself, “Try and strike me” he said, and she tried to swing it at his shield, but he swiftly knocked it back once more, “Again. Use the strength of your upper body, not your forearms”

She tried again. And again. And again. The sword was heavy, and her arms ached dreadfully, it seemed more effort to keep it off the ground than it was to aim for a target. Without warning, Ivar pushed the shield into the sword with such a force that she went flying backwards, landing with a thud on her back. The wind was knocked out of her and she panted heavily as she tried to catch her breath. She looked up and saw Ivar smiling widely, if she hadn’t been so angry she might have found the sight of the sullen Viking doing something other than scowling, for the first time since she had met him, endearing. 

Instead, she left the sword lying in the grass as she clambered to her feet and marched towards Ivar, pulling the shield from Vikings hands, and threw it across the clearing with as much strength as her slender arms would allow, 

“You are a brute!” she spat, standing in front of him with her fists balled her at her sides. Ivar looked from the shield, to Elena,

“Did your mother not teach you that it is rude to damage a man’s shield?” He said, any trace of humour now gone from his face

“It is hardly damaged. I only wish I had thrown it harder”

“Pick it up”

“No”

“Pick it up” he growled, his face dark with anger that was bubbling to the surface because of the impertinent girl in front of him

“I am not your slave, _Boneless_ , if you want it back you can scuttle across the ground like the rat you are and get it yourself”

Elena made to turn away but Ivar’s hand shot out and grabbed tightly onto her upper arm, yanking her down so his mouth was close to her ear, “I do not take well to insults” he sneered

“And yet you are so good at giving them” Elena turned her face so she was looking directly at him, refusing to be afraid of him like he wanted her to be, but at the same time painfully aware of how close their lips were to touching. She could feel his warm breath on her face, and as she watched him roll his tongue across the inside of his cheek, a menacing smirk on his features, she could feel herself leaning towards him, as though she had lost all control of her body.

Ivar released his grip on Elena’s arm in shock the instant she pressed her lips against his. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but he couldn’t respond to her touch. No girl had ever kissed him willingly, and he was sure a girl like Elena would never want to. He pushed her away quickly, “What are you doing?”

Elena took a step back, her cheeks burning in embarrassment, and her fingers touching her mouth where Ivar’s had been only seconds ago, “I-I’m sorry. I thought…” Her mind was void of all words; did she tell him she had been wanting to do that since she had first saw him in the courtyard? Or did she run away and never leave her chambers again like she wanted to? 

They were both still, staring at each other in an intense silence. Elena felt a spark of hope as she saw something shift in Ivar’s gaze, the anger fading away, and once again she was out of her body and stepping back towards the Viking. She placed a hand on his cheek and kissed his lips once more. Ivar kept his eyes open, watching her face as best he could, afraid she was playing a cruel prank and would begin to laugh at any moment, but he didn’t have the strength to stop her. His lips began to move against hers, reciprocating her movements and he felt his hand go up to her face, his thumb under her chin and his fingers above her ear. Elena reacted to his encouraging touch by stepping even closer, so her chest was pressing against his. Their lips began to crash together more passionately until Elena pulled away, Ivar felt his heart sink until she panted breathlessly,

“Can I…” she started, looking pointedly to his lap .Ivar didn’t move, unsure of what she wanted him to do, “Can I?”, she lightly brushed his thighs with her hand and he understood at once. Ivar grabbed her waist and heaved her onto his lap, thinking how much heavier she was than she looked. 

She wrapped her legs around him as he pulled her on top of him and their lips immediately merged together again. Ivar growled into her lips as he let his hands roam up and down her back, warily letting himself travel further down until they were resting on her ass. When she didn’t push his hands away he began to grip her harder, grasping both her cheeks in his hands, and when she moaned into his mouth he almost ripped the material from her back. He wanted to throw her on the ground and taste every part of her, to take her breasts in his mouth and use his fingers to discover what was in between her legs. But with every twinge of arousal felt in his breeches he was reminded of the last time he had been with a woman and it was all he could do not to push her away and crawl back to the settlement in shame.

Elena pulled away breathlessly, “Am I hurting your legs?”

Ivar shook his head, 

“You keep…looking distracted. Is it because I am hurting you?”

“I am not as frail as I look, you cannot hurt me“, He stopped, “Even if you do weigh the same as a cow”

Elena’s hand shot back and gripped his hair suddenly, yanking his head back and she smiled as he hissed in pain, “I thought I could not hurt you” she whispered as she kissed his jawline softly. She released her grip and jumped off him quickly before he could retaliate.

“Come to me” He growled as she stepped backwards, “Or I will- “He froze as he watched her dress slip to the ground and Elena stepped cautiously out of it. She stood naked a few feet in front of him, holding her breath as she watched for his reaction, afraid she was moving too fast. She felt her skin tingle as his eyes took in every part of her body, and began to walk slowly into the cabin, her eyes never leaving Ivar’s until she stepped through the door. 

She sat on the bed, almost paralysed in fear, praying that he would follow her. She waited, and waited, and just as she thought she had made the utmost fool of herself the door was pushed slowly open. Ivar rested in the doorway, staring at her, both desperate for her body and terrified of what was about to happen. Elena wondered why he looked so nervous, she was sure a man like Ivar would have had his pick of women. 

He looked as though he couldn’t move and Elena walked over to him, crouching in front of him and taking his face into her hands as she kissed him again. As though her touch had awakened him from his stupor, he pushed himself up to kiss her better, then followed her back to the bed. He climbed onto the furs, and had barely the chance to make himself comfortable before Elena was on her knees beside him, kissing his face and pulling his tunic over his head, moving her mouth down to his neck. She felt her stomach flip in exhilaration as she took in his naked torso. She kissed him hard under his ears and bit down on the tender skin of his neck.

Ivar groaned, but was still frozen in fear, his knuckles were white as he gripped the sheepskins beneath him while her mouth worked across his neck and jawline. He felt her grab his hand and guide it in between her thighs. He could feel her wetness as she released him and warily, he began to stroke her, looking to her face to watch her reaction as he trailed his finger up to her clitoris, and then down to her entrance. Slowly he slipped it inside of her, goose bumps rising all over his flesh as she gasped in both pain and pleasure. She grabbed his hand, forcing him to stop while she composed herself, then cautiously let him push in further, she tensed as his finger slid in and out, the pain still there but gradually becoming more bearable until, unable to take it any slower he slipped in another finger, and she gasped again, only this time in pleasure.

Hungrily she reached down to his breeches, but he grabbed her hand quickly, stopping it before she could touch him, “No” he growled, waiting anxiously for her to ask why, but she didn’t seem to care as she moved her hand away without question and grinded against his fingers. He swallowed hard, his mouth open and dry as he pushed her onto her back gently and leant down beside her, propping himself up on his elbow and spreading her legs wide so he could see all of her, as his other hand continued to play, pushing his fingers in and out. He looked from her sex, to her face, watching her response to every touch he made. He found her clitoris again and began to circle it tenderly, smiling as she gasped and closed her eyes, he moved faster and her hips bucked up in pleasure. His confidence growing, he adjusted himself and pushed his fingers inside her again with his other hand, her gasps turning to loud moans as he moved with growing speed and force, watching her in awe as she groaned loudly, pushing herself into him. 

He wanted to make her cum, and he wanted his name on her lips as she did. It pained him to use his legs to lean on, so he pulled away and sat himself upright, leaning against the wall, smirking as she whimpered at his missing touch, then grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him, lying her down so her head rested by his feet, and her legs leant against his chest. He pushed her legs apart so they were now on either side of him, exposing all of her to him again. He pushed his fingers inside once more, building up a rhythm, then using his other hand, began to circle her clitoris with his thumb. He was panting loudly as he watched her arch her back and writhe helplessly on the bed. He felt her entrance start to clench around his fingers and her loud groans turn into low whimpers, her hips jerked up and she gasped loudly, “Ivar” she breathed as she came on his fingers, pushing her pelvis further down onto them, “Ivar”

He smiled wickedly as he watched her body weaken beneath him, her lips still whispering his name. He moved his hands reluctantly from her and pulled her body up to him so she was sat on his lap. Her face was red and flustered, her hair matted to her forehead, “You look like a swine on heat” he muttered.

Elena rolled her eyes, “One day, you are going to say something nice to me. And I am going to die from shock”, she leaned her head against the crook of his neck, still trying to recover from what had just happened, “I’m sorry about your shield”, she murmured tiredly

Ivar shrugged, his thumb tracing up and down her spine, “It is not mine, I have no use for a shield”

Elena bit her tongue, holding back the argument she wanted to start about why he had made such a fuss of her throwing it in the first place. Instead, she lifted her head and pressed her nose against his, “It is your turn now” she whispered as her hand wandered down towards his crotch, again he caught her by the wrists and pulled them away, “No”, his eyes burning into hers, the kindness that was there a moment ago now gone, and a sudden realisation hit her, if his legs didn’t work then… She nodded, and leaned her head back on his shoulder, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. She had seen the bulge in between his legs; it didn’t make sense.

Ivar had been ready to play again, he wanted to taste her, to see what noises she made when he used his tongue, but now he felt angry. Angry that he couldn’t give her what she really wanted. He pushed her from him as gently as his frustration would let him, and pulled his tunic over his head as he turned away from her.

“Are you leaving?” she asked, trying to disguise the despair in her voice with a cough

His back was now to her and he looked over his shoulder at her with the corner of his eyes, “My brothers will be waiting for me”, he lied. His brothers would most likely be passed out under the body of some naked shield maiden, he wouldn’t even have crossed their minds. He climbed off the bed and began to crawl towards the door. Elena could not control her body as she jumped to her feet, “Will you be coming back tomorrow?” she said, now unable to hide the desperation in her voice. Ivar turned and stared at her, her glowing cheeks and slender body, pink nipples standing on end on her small breasts. The corner of his mouth turned up into a half smirk, for the first time in his life he had spent a night doing what his brothers did almost every night. 

“As long as you do not want me to teach you how to fight” He said, “I could teach a cross-eyed goose to swing a sword better than you” She nodded and smiled back, paying no attention to his insult, and watched as he crawled from the cabin, her body aching for his touch again already.


	5. Chapter 5

The sound of the door creaking as it was pushed open echoed through the cabin. Elena looked over her shoulder, but stayed lay on her stomach on the bed, “I didn’t think you were coming”, she mumbled. It was almost dawn now, and she would have to leave soon. She had waited all night for him, longer than she should have, longer than any respectable woman would have. But she was a naïve and foolish girl, so she had waited, hoping he would show up, even if just for a moment.

Ivar shrugged and silently crawled over to the bed, leaning his arms up onto the sheepskins as he stroked her uncovered calf lightly with the tip of his finger, the lower half of his face buried in the crook of his elbow. He had thought a long time about whether he would see her again. He had told himself that he wouldn’t, that he didn’t care to see her again. He had spent all night rooted to his seat, refusing to go to her. Midnight had come and gone and he hadn’t slept, or eaten, he hadn’t even moved. 

The truth of it was, he didn’t believe she would be there either. Why would a woman like Elena want to see a cripple like him again? Son of Ragnar or not. He would save himself the humiliation. And yet, memories of the night before kept emerging in his head. The way she had lay on the bed, her legs wide, letting him see every part of her. And the way she had looked at him, the same way he had seen slaves, and shield maidens look at his brothers. She had wanted him, and when he touched her it was his name she had cried.  
His desire to touch her again, along with the growing ache in his breeches eventually forced him to crawl down from his chair, and slowly make his way through the woods towards the cabin. He sat at the edge of the clearing, and watched the flickering of the candles in the windows confirming that she was there. He stayed hidden in the darkness, staring at the cabin until his legs began to cramp, and the bitter wind made his whole body shiver, and then he watched as the door opened and Elena stepped out, her arms folded tightly across her chest in reaction to the cold. Her eyes scanned the clearing, looking for him before walking back inside. It was all the incentive he needed as he crawled towards the door, slowly pushing it open.

And now he sat, his weight on his elbows as he knelt against the bed stroking the back of her leg, fighting the overwhelming longing to climb on top of her and thrust himself inside of her. He let his hand travel further up her night gown, lightly scraping his nails across the top of her thigh and the crease of her backside. She let out a faint, breathy sigh and turned her head again, looking down at him from over her shoulder as he let his fingers brush tenderly over the wetness that was already forming in between her legs. He placed his palm flat over one cheek, then scratched his nails down the plump flesh of her buttock. She arched her back, pushing up her rear just enough to make Ivar lose the little control he had left, and he thrust a finger into her entrance with no warning. Elena yelped loudly in response, and with his free hand, Ivar gripped her hip and pulled her body round to him, her legs now hanging off, as she bent over the bed in front of him. Ivar let out a low, guttural growl as he pushed her nightgown over her hips and took in the sight of her. He leaned forward, his teeth nipping at her cheeks, low enough that his bottom lip pressed against her sex. He bit down harder, forcing her to squeal in both pleasure and pain. He pulled away, licking his lower lip as he pushed her down onto her back and climbed onto the bed on top of her. Before he could do anything else, Elena had pulled his face towards hers and was kissing him fervently, her tongue sliding inside his mouth, fighting for dominance with his own. Her hands reached down to the hem of his tunic and pulled it over his head. She panted breathlessly as she looked down at his chest, scraping her nails down over his nipples and stopping at his belly button, wary of going any lower.

Ivar smirked down at her, a shiver going up his spine as her nails dragged across his skin, leaving red welts down his torso. Goose bumps rose across his flesh as he watched the way she looked at him, her desire for him so clear in her eyes that any doubts he had about her feelings for him disappeared in that instant. He kissed her again, taking a final taste of her lips, before moving down her body eagerly. He nudged her legs apart with his hips and pushed up her dress again, exposing her breasts, leaving the material bunched up around her neck. With one hand he squeezed her breast, pinching the nipple hard, whilst his tongue swirled around the other, biting and nipping as she wove her fingers into his hair. 

Ivar moved his lips away and panted heavily as he looked at her open legs, he had never touched a woman down there with his mouth before. He moved down, his face hovering above her sex, and parted her lips with his fingers, hesitating for only a second before sweeping his tongue from her entrance up to her clitoris, and back down again. Elena gasped at the unfamiliar sensation, her stomach muscles tensing as he lapped at the tender skin. She moaned loudly when his tongue found her clit again, Ivar smiled at the sound she made when he touched her there, and began to circle her bud while his fingers slid inside rhythmically. He groaned loudly into the folds of her sex, gripping her hip so tightly with his free hand, Elena knew she would be left with deep, purple bruises, but the sensation of it only helped her along. Her whole body clenched as he sucked her clit, his fingers never slowing and suddenly her hands were covering her face as she arched her back and pushed herself further into Ivar’s tongue. She moaned loudly, and his eyes flicked up, wanting to watch her as he made her come, his arm shooting up to yank her hands away from her face. He wanted to see her, her cheeks a burning red just like they were the last time and her eyes rolled back, her hands now gripping the cloths underneath her so tightly that her knuckles were white. He wished he had the willpower to break, to stop and tease her a bit longer. He promised himself the next the time he would, tonight he wanted to make her come now. Her entrance began to tighten around his fingers and he knew she was there. She groaned lowly, her hand gripping Ivar’s hair once more, and he couldn’t help but slow, almost stopping altogether as he watched her, fascinated by the way her body tensed and untensed, the way her mouth opened and her eyelids fluttered. 

They stayed silently still, as Elena came down from her high with closed eyes and Ivar watched every movement of her body as her breaths became regular, and the feverish colour of her cheeks and chest faded to a blotched pink. 

“What? Do you not have an insult ready for me today?” She smiled, breaking the silence and looking down at him through her eyelashes, “No ungainly animal to compare me with?”

“The noises you were making sounded like so many different farm animals I could not choose just one”

Elena pinched at the skin on his neck in retaliation, just as the sun shone in through the window, forcing her to squint from the brightness. The sudden glare of morning light reminded her of where she was, and where she should be. She jumped from the bed, forcing Ivar to roll off her as she pushed her dress back down to her feet, slipped her shoes on and began frantically patting down her hair, trying unsuccessfully to tame the thick brown waves. Ivar had already slipped his tunic back over his head and was pulling the braces around his legs when Elena crouched in front of him, kissing his lips while her hands held his face to hers. The show of affection, even after what they had just done, surprised him and he didn’t know how, or if he should reciprocate. Instead, he stayed deathly still and silent until she stood, dragging her fingernail along his jawline as she walked away. It was only when the door slammed shut behind her that he realised he had been holding his breath. He wondered if his brothers ever felt the same way when they were with a woman, and suddenly, their weakness for the opposite sex finally made sense to him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prelude to the good stuff... Which will probably be posted shortly

Ivar crawled towards the table where three of his brothers sat, and pulled himself slowly onto the long bench beside it. He hated the castle, he hated being surrounded by Christians, and he hated sitting in the Earls hall. There were few chairs, and the benches that were placed around the tables were flimsy and difficult for him to climb onto. Ubbe pushed a goblet of wine towards him and he drank it gladly, the scowl still firm on his features. He rarely travelled up to the castle when his brothers did, only when they were going over the drafted agreements, or when Bjorn would ask him to. 

Today, the Earl had invited the Ragnarssons and their men to feast and celebrate their new alliance, the papers were signed, the gold had been counted, and it would not be long before Ivar and his brothers were leaving. Ivar had scoffed at the idea of feasting with a bunch of Christians, but when his brothers were readying themselves to leave that afternoon, he found himself climbing into his chariot and riding alongside them. 

It had been almost four weeks since his first night with Elena, and they had spent every night together since. The idea of being in the Hall with her Father, knowing what he did to his daughter each night made him smirk wickedly. 

“I for one will not be leaving Kattegat again until I have Margrethe fat with my child” Ubbe said, rousing Ivar from his thoughts and downing the last of his drink, 

“Or mine” Hvitserk smirked, and a carrot flew from Ubbe’s hand, hitting him in the forehead

Ivar looked up when he heard her familiar laugh, and saw Elena walking into the Hall. She looked over at him, as though feeling his eyes upon her and her cheeks flushed pink as they always did. He smirked suggestively in return. Sigurd caught his younger brother’s rare smile, and followed his gaze back to Elena. It was only when she saw his fair-haired brother looking at her through suspicious, narrowed eyes that Elena shifted her gaze quickly, and hurried to her Father’s side at the head of the Hall. 

“Daughter”, The Earl nodded, as Elena took her seat at his side, doing her best to not look in Ivar’s direction, fearing her cheeks would burn so bright her Father would send for a healer, “Godric wishes to start preparations for your wedding, and I think it would be wise for you to have at least one conversation with him before the day comes”, he looked at her through the corner of his eye as Elena glared and clucked her tongue, looking over to where her future husband stood surrounded by his nobles. He stood proud, at least four inches above them all, talking loudly over the other voices. The only thing he loved more than a woman on her knees was the sound of his own voice.

“You might find you quite enjoy his company”, Her Father continued insistently

“Or I might find that I dislike him even more than I already do” She mumbled, before looking back to her Father, his pale grey eyes pleading with her to try, and she sighed loudly, “Fine, I shall speak to him”, she said, “But not today. He is looking particularly irritating today”

Her Father nodded, satisfied, “I have been speaking with Bjorn”, he said, changing the subject as he looked towards a group of Vikings drinking and laughing boisterously, “He says the settlers from his land will soon be here to start their new lives in England, and that he and his brothers will be leaving”

Elena bit her lip and nodded, she knew he would be leaving soon, she didn’t like to think about it, about the mundane life she would be left with once he was gone. 

“It will feel quite strange, I think. Without an abundance of north-men roaming through the castle, and villages” He mused, more to himself than to Elena, “But, I believe I shall sleep much easier”

He clicked his fingers at a passing servant, and handed Elena an empty goblet as the servant stepped forward and filled their cups with the finest wine her Father had. She placed the cup to her lips and gulped eagerly, she had never been permitted to drink the wine instead of mead, and then she promptly spat the liquid back into the goblet, spluttering and coughing, “That …” she croaked, “That is vile”.

Elena pushed the cup back into the servant’s hands, smiling apologetically. She furrowed her eyebrows as she watched the girl take the cup distractedly, her eyes flitting from her and back to the Hall. She stood beside three other servants, all with similar, anxious expressions on their faces. 

“What is wrong?” Elena asked, stepping forward to stand with them. They lowered their heads sheepishly, but remained silent, looking nervously towards the table where the Ragnarssons sat. Elena narrowed her eyes, “Are you afraid?”, she asked disbelieving.

The girl beside her looked to her friends, before nodding her head and leaning in to Elena, “My Father said Pagans are vicious, like wild animals” she whispered

“They have hundreds of Gods, and they make human sacrifices to gain their favour” One chimed in

“My sister heard that they choose one girl each night to sacrifice” Another nodded

“And they drink the blood when it is over”

“I heard that even their heaven is a barbaric place, where they brawl, and drink and…” The girl moved in closer, as though afraid someone would hear her already hushed voice, “And they fornicate…. Where everyone can see”

Elena rolled her eyes, “But they are just men”, she said, looking to each of the girls, “I am sure they will not sacrifice you for filling their cups with wine”

But still they bit their lips and shuffled their feet, too afraid to approach the table of Vikings. Elena looked over to them, watching Ivar leaning on his elbows, his tongue pushing at the inside of his cheek, staring cockily at his brother, evidently winning whatever disagreement they were having. She took the jug from the servant’s hand and made her way towards them. Sigurd was the first to notice her, his eyes narrowing as he looked her up and down unpleasantly. Ivar saw her next and a dangerous smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth and Elena had to look away, biting her bottom lip to prevent the coy smile that tried to appear.

“Elena” Ubbe grinned as she stood beside him, filling his empty chalice with the deep red liquid, 

“Do the daughters of Earls usually serve their guests in England?” Sigurd asked scornfully

Elena smiled as she moved to Hvitserk’s cup, “Only when their servants are too afraid to serve the guests themselves” She could feel Ivar’s eyes burning into her skin, and she could only hope that her face wasn’t as red as the wine she was pouring. She walked to the other side of the table and stood in between Sigurd and Ivar. The fine hairs on her arms stood up as she brushed against his shoulder, and she almost poured the wine into Sigurd’s lap when she felt Ivar’s hand carefully lifting her skirts and sliding up the back of her leg. She turned to face him, seeing he was already holding his goblet out, his tongue brushing over his bottom lip provocatively, as his fingers kneaded inconspicuously into the back of her knee. She poured the liquid with a shaky hand, her eyes flitting from the wine to the blue eyes looking up at her and she couldn’t help but smile, her cheeks flushing with colour. She nodded a light goodbye to the brothers before she turned away, brushing her hand faintly along Ivar’s lower back as she walked past. 

“Have you found a new pet, Ivar?” Sigurd asked. He had watched the way Ivar’s hand crept up her leg, and how they had looked to one another. How Ivar was still looking. 

Ivar frowned, reluctantly turning his gaze away from Elena, “What are you talking about now, Sigurd?”

“I saw you looking at her”

He shrugged, pretending to not know of who he spoke “Who?” 

“The Earls daughter”

Ivar’s hand tightened around his chalice, and Ubbe slapped his hand on the table loudly “Who isn’t looking at her, brother?” He laughed, “I have been looking at her arse since the day we got here”

“I have dreamt of burying my face in between her legs” Hvitserk added, making a rude gesture with his fingers and causing Ubbe to spit out his drink. Ivar watched them, a possessive anger bubbling inside him threateningly, but over-powering that, was a swell of smug satisfaction, and he smirked at his brothers knowingly. 

“Have you also been slipping a hand up her dress when you thought no one was looking?” Sigurd snapped, turning to Ivar, “Have you… _Boneless_?”

The brothers fell silent, Hvitserk and Ubbe staring between their younger brothers perplexedly, and Ivar scowled murderously at Sigurd, “Shut up” he snarled,

“Is that why you disappear every night? Because you are bedding the Earls whore daughter?” Sigurd sneered, “Where exactly do you go to fuck her?”

“That is none of your business, do not speak of her” He barked, speaking without thought, his voice deep with anger, “She is no whore”

Hvitserk laughed, breaking tension, “So it is true? You and the daughter?”

“Ivar the Boneless and a Christian” Sigurd remarked as he sipped from his chalice, a satisfied smirk on his face

“She is no Christian” Ivar snapped and narrowed his eyes, waving a table knife in his hand as he spoke, “Do you not have a man waiting for you to serenade him with your lute, _snake_?”

Ubbe stood up and walked round the table to Ivar, ruffling his hair and squeezing his shoulders as he grinned at his younger brother proudly. Ivar allowed himself to smile back briefly, but his anger at Sigurd’s words still brimmed at the surface and he glowered at him, daring him to say something else.

“Brother”, Ubbe started, seeing Ivar’s dark eyes and trying urgently to steer the conversation away from where he knew it would end, “Brother, I must ask you one thing”

Ivar turned to look at Ubbe, raising his eyebrow in silent reply, waiting for him to continue

“ _What does her cunt taste like?_ ”

Hvitserk laughed loudly, and even Sigurd couldn’t help but snigger. Ivar smiled in resignation as Ubbe grabbed his face, smacking his face playfully. He turned his head as Elena walked by, talking animatedly to a young servant girl and almost knocking over the jug of wine from the tray she was carrying. He called out to her, beckoning her to come over, and she stepped warily towards them, looking briefly at Ivar as Ubbe grinned broadly at her.

“Elena”, Ubbe started as he walked back to his seat at the table, “Let me ask you a question”

“If it is about any of the women in here, then the answer is only by force”

“That would have been my second question” He said, looking pointedly at the servant she had been talking to moments before, “But my first is of a similar matter. Tell me; what is my little brother like in bed? Does he satisfy you, or would you like to experiment with an older, more experienced son of Ragnar Lothbrok?”

Elena’s mouth fell open comically and her face turned a bright shade of crimson as Ubbe and Hvitserk watched her reaction, and laughed at Ivar’s glower. 

“I satisfy her well enough” He retorted with a sneer, “Why else would she open her legs for me every night? Isn’t that right, Saxon?”

She looked down at Ivar, her eyes wide in shock, but he only looked at her and shrugged. His anger was fading as fast as it came, and he couldn’t help but feel glad, almost proud that his brothers now knew. He eyed Sigurd through the corner of his eye and a satisfied smirk pulled at his lips when he saw his brothers scowl. Elena snapped out of her stupor and hushed the brothers quickly as she sat herself in between Ivar and Sigurd hurriedly, looking around the Hall to make sure no one was watching, or listening to them.

“Quiet” She hissed sharply. Ivar lifted his hand and stroked a finger down her cheek cockily, knowing his brothers were watching with envious eyes. Elena batted his hand away quickly, “Not here” she whispered, but his hand only moved from her face to her thigh, squeezing it hard before trailing his fingers further up, coming dangerously close to her sex and she pushed him away crossly, “Stop. If anybody sees they will have me flogged”

“One night with me, and you would change your mind” Ubbe grinned, winking at her playfully. Elena hissed under her breath, and looked around in paranoia, but was unable to stop herself from giggling at Ivar’s older brother. Ivar narrowed his eyes as he watched the way Elena smiled at Ubbe, but was quickly pulled away from his thoughts by the sound of Sigurd’s bitter voice.

“And do you satisfy him, Elena?” He said, a nasty glint in his eye as he looked from her to Ivar, “Only, I have heard that it is hard for him to be satisfied… Or is that the problem, Ivar? That it is not hard?”

Ivar glared viciously at Sigurd, his whole body tensing as he tried desperately to contain his anger, “Elena, tell my brother how you scream my name. Tell him how I make you _beg_ for my prick”, He pushed his hand in between her legs roughly and squeezed, his eyes fixed on his brother. Elena jumped up, almost knocking the drinks from the table and stepped backwards away from his reach. 

“I wish I could”, she snapped, brushing her dress down, trying control her temper and not cause a scene, “You have never removed your breeches, I am beginning to wonder if you even have one”

She turned and hurried from the Hall, not caring to stay for Ivar’s response, she didn’t care if her words stung, nor how angry they would make him. She looked briefly for her Father, and saw Godric watching her through narrowed eyes. For a moment, her stomach tensed in fear, wondering if he had seen her interaction with Ivar, but she was too agitated to consider what that would mean and she stormed angrily to her chambers. 

Ivar’s fists were clenched, his knuckles pale as he exhaled forcefully through his nose, his breaths short and angry as he listened to Sigurd laugh victoriously. Ubbe glared at his fair-haired brother, warning him silently to stop, but Sigurd didn’t care, he wasn’t afraid of Ivar. Hvitserk put his cup to his mouth, trying to hide his irrepressible smirk. Ivar roared loudly, slamming his fists into the table before swinging his feet off the bench and crawling furiously out of the Hall. His eyes were dark with rage as he searched the courtyard for her. He would kill her for humiliating him like that. He would squeeze her throat until her eyes left their sockets and her skin turned blotched and purple.   
Ivar crawled to the cabin, and waited. He waited until the day had turned to night, and the night was turning to dawn, until his over-powering violent rage had dissolved into his frequent familiar anger. But she didn’t come. He crawled through the woods, his legs and arms scraping across twigs and stones as he clambered recklessly towards the castle. It was only when the castle came into view at the edge of the village that he stopped. It was morning now, and he rested against a tree, watching the windows in the stone walls, wondering which one she was behind, unable to control his heavy eyelids as they fell slowly shut.


	7. Chapter 7

The castle was silent as midnight came around again. Elena trailed her hand along the wall of the passageway as she made her way out of the castle. She had confined herself inside for over a day, refusing to go anywhere that there might be the possibility of seeing Ivar. She clambered through the hatch and made her way towards the cabin, stumbling through the thicket. She bit her lower lip, her heart thudding anxiously as she caught sight of the small glow of candles through the sparse trees. She’d had no doubt that he would be there when she had made up her mind to go back, and she didn’t care, in truth, she wanted to tell him how much she didn’t care. But as she saw the shadow of his silhouette leaning against the outside of the cabin, a rush of uncertainty washed over her and she almost turned back.

“I have not come for you, do not look so satisfied with yourself” She said as she walked into the clearing, showing him her best imitation of disinterest. Ivar glared ominously from where he sat, pulling the braces from his wrists as he watched her stomp towards him.

“Sit down” he snarled. She tried to walk past him and through the door but his hand shot out instantaneously and gripped upper arm, “Sit. Down”

“No”, she spat, trying to pull herself away from his inflexible hold, but he only jerked her down closer to his face, “If you do not sit down, I will make you sit down” he murmured into her ear, his voice filled with menace, “And you will not like what happens then”

Elena felt the little hairs that covered her body stand on end. She knew she should feel afraid, she could tell by the dark of his eyes that he meant every word. However, it wasn’t fear she felt, but a shudder of elation. She wanted to push him, she wanted to see what he would do. She wasn’t afraid of him.

“Go fuck yourself, Boneless” she hissed. She saw the shift in his eyes, the rage that blazed behind his pupils as his nostrils flared. Before she could change her mind about being afraid of him, he had yanked her arm down so she was bending in front of him, their faces almost touching. Elena slapped him hard across the cheek, his head snapped sideways and suddenly he was flinging her down onto the wooden bench with him. He pressed her face onto the seat and shifted so he was hovering above her, he grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head backwards, “Do you think because I finger fuck you every night that you can speak to me like that Saxon? Like you did yesterday? Did you think I would let you get away with it so easily?” He hissed into her ear, his other hand gripped her wrist and pulled her arm back unnaturally, “I don’t take well to being insulted”, He pulled harder on her hair, and Elena closed her eyes, moaning softly. 

Ivar stopped. 

He looked down at her face, his prick twitching as he realised with a shock that she was enjoying it. He pulled again and she moaned louder. He felt a shiver go up his spine as he listened to her irregular breathing, and watched the corners of her mouth twitch into a smile as he tugged on her hair.

He gazed down her body as she lay on her stomach and, releasing her arm, he moved his hand down to her rear, rubbing it tentatively before bringing his hand down, smacking it almost cautiously at first through her nightdress, she whimpered, sticking her rear out, silently asking for more. He smacked her again, harder this time and she groaned loudly, turning her head so he could see her face as she gasped and panted. Ivar lost any composure he had, and he lifted her legs, dragging her lower half across his lap. He pulled up her dress, bunching the material around her waist and exposing her bare buttocks.

“Just so you know Ivar, this doesn’t make us- “Elena gasped as he slipped his finger inside her

Ivar growled as he felt how wet she was already, and he swiftly spanked her again, watching in admiration as the redness appeared on her cheek. He bought his hand down on her rear over and over, growling each time she wailed as he made contact with her ample flesh. He lifted his hand to smack her again, but she pushed herself onto her knees abruptly, “Enough”, she panted, as she climbed off his lap and Ivar almost whined at being forced to stop. 

“Come on”, she said, walking into the cabin, and he followed behind obligingly, eager to pick up where they left off. Elena had already removed her dress by the time he got inside, and she lay on the bed, her legs wide, letting him see all of her. He smirked at the sight, but he wasn’t ready for that yet, he wanted to see how far she would go, how much she would let him do, his mind was racing with dangerous ideas. He felt as though he had opened the Pandora’s box inside of him and he crawled on top of her, hungry for the taste of her lips.

“Take off your clothes” she said, and he pulled his tunic over his head, throwing it carelessly across the room before diving back to her already swollen mouth. She pulled away from his kiss, “No” she breathed, “All of them”

Ivar froze. Elena looked into his eyes, she could see his fear, but she had been thinking about it for days now. She didn’t understand why he would not let her touch his lower half, why she was not allowed to even see it. It couldn’t be his prick, she had felt its stiffness every time she was with him, and if it was his legs he was afraid of her seeing then she wanted to show him that it did not matter to her, “Ivar?”, she started, but he pushed himself off her and sat up quickly, a scowl across his face, “No”, he snapped

“Why?”

He didn’t want to answer, he tried to climb from the bed to retrieve his tunic and leave, but she scrambled towards him and climbed across his lap before he could, “Get off” he hissed

“What are you afraid of, Ivar?” she asked, trying desperately to get him to look at her, “Is it your legs? Because I do not care, I swear it”

He grabbed her by the waist and threw her onto the bed, but she clambered off, and crawled round so she was kneeling in front of him, “Is it your prick?”

She saw him flinch as she said the word, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Then I do not understand”

“What is hard to understand?” He spat, “Are you stupid as well as loose? Get away from me”

“What do you think is wrong with you?” She asked, ignoring his insults, “Do you think you are incapable, because Ivar, I think you are mistaken”

“And what would you know?” he seethed, gritting his teeth.

“I see the swelling from under your breeches every night. I feel it every time I lay on top of you, or you press against me, surely it’s impossible that you didn’t notice also?”

Of course he had, there were nights he almost ripped his breeches off himself, wanting nothing more than to thrust himself inside of her. But with every thought of taking her like a real man he was reminded of Margrethe, and he would not be humiliated like that again, he would never let another woman disgrace him as she had. But whenever he looked at Elena, he felt those same emotions all over again, he desperately wanted to give her what she wanted, so much so he almost let himself believe she could be right.

Ivar stayed silent, and for the first time since she had met him she saw redness flood his cheeks as he looked down to his feet. She shifted forward again and reached cautiously towards his lower half, his head snapped up and he tried to push her away with his hands, but she held onto them, kissing them gently, “Let me”, she pleaded, and cautiously released him, reaching again for the laces of his breeches. Ivar’s entire body had tensed up; his fists were clenched by his sides as he watched her pull the material down. He had to close his eyes, he didn’t want to see her face when she saw his soft prick and his repulsive legs. 

Elena pulled his breeches from his legs and threw them to the floor. They were almost skeletal, and full of grazes and purple bruises. She began to kiss them gently, not knowing if he was enjoying her touch, or if he could even feel it. He had never spoke to her about his legs, but she saw him slowly open his eyes and watch warily as her lips trailed up and down, kissing his fragile skin gently. She pushed lightly on his stomach, and he gradually allowed her to lay him on his back. She took his prick into her hand and brought it up to her lips, letting her tongue trace up and down his shaft before taking his head into her mouth. Ivar stayed tense, his eyes burning into the ceiling above, trying to force himself to forget where Elena was, and how exposed he was to her. His prick stayed limp as he knew it would, and he began to exhale heavily through his nose wishing he had never let it get this far.

Elena looked up at Ivar and saw the shame in his face as he avoided looking down at her. She stood up suddenly, and Ivar felt his face burning in humiliation, ready to watch her make her excuses and leave. But she grabbed his wrists and pulled him upright. He couldn’t make eye contact with her, but it didn’t matter, she kissed his forehead and pushed his mouth onto her breast, moving her nipple towards his lips. He opened his mouth willingly and let his tongue circle her areola as her other hand guided him in between her legs. He slipped his fingers inside keenly, happy that his worthless prick had been forgotten and she hadn’t yet run through the door away from him. She groaned softly in pleasure, digging her nails into his muscular shoulder, he listened to the quiet sucking sound of her wet entrance as he thrust his fingers in and out, holding her nipple in between his teeth as she squealed. 

Just as she was on the verge of coming, she pushed him away and grabbed his hand, stopping his fingers. Ivar looked up at her in confusion, as she began to straddle him. He looked down at what she was doing, his prick was standing upright, angry veins throbbing on his shaft. She grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her instead as she lowered herself onto him. She bit her lip as he entered her, and Ivar gasped loudly, his mouth open, in a mixture of shock and pleasure. Elena sat still, the feeling of having the whole of him inside almost enough to push her over the edge. She looked at Ivar and smiled, then slowly began to drive her hips up and down, clumsily and unskilled at first until she gradually built up a rhythm. 

Ivar was still frozen to where he sat, still unable to touch her, his hands clutching the furs underneath him as though he was afraid to let go, but deep, raspy groans sounded from the back of his throat as he watched Elena bounce on top of him, her nails scratched at his shoulders and her eyes closed as she moaned in pleasure. The sight made his prick spasm, forcing him to jerk forward and he lost all control of his body. He wrapped his arms around her waist, his fingers digging into her back and he buried his face into the crook of her neck. His hips bucked forcefully underneath her as his seed shot from his prick inside of her, he bit down on her skin moaning louder than he ever had into her damp flesh. 

They stayed wrapped in each other’s arms with only the sound of their heavy breathing, until Elena felt him become limp inside of her. Pushing his head from her shoulder she held his face in her hands and kissed his lips gingerly.

“Imagine, if you had let me do that the first night”, she smiled, “From now on, we do as I say” 

Ivar glared up at her, but his lips curled up into a smirk as he let his head drop onto her shoulder again, “How long until I am able to do that again?” he murmured into her skin.


	8. Chapter 8

“Go back to sleep”

Ivar murmured groggily with closed eyes as he felt Elena shift underneath him. He tightened his arm around her ribs and pushed his face back into her breast. She paused, staying frozen in position until she heard his light, breathy snores once more. Slowly, she began to shuffle her body again, gently pushing him off her, leaving a cold, damp spot on her chest where his head had been. She had just managed to pry his arms from around her waist, and was steadily trying to get upright, when Ivar’s hand suddenly pressed flat across her face, squashing her nose as he pushed her back down, “Sleep”, he barked

“I have to-“Her voice was muffled by Ivar’s palm, and she pushed his hand away, “I have to leave”

“It is not yet light” He mumbled, opening one eye and staring into the cabin

“The aim is usually for me to get back _before_ it’s light” 

Ivar grunted, and reluctantly removed his hand away from her, allowing Elena to rise and reach forward for her nightdress, inadvertently pulling the sheet that was covering them both along with her. She heard Ivar’s protest to the sudden gust of cold and turned her head to look at him, his dishevelled hair looked black against the white of the furs, she watched as his sturdy chest contracted up and down with each breath, and a faint smile pulled at the corners of her lips as she saw the arousal growing in between his legs.

“You know better than to smile at me like that, Saxon”

Her face flushed, but before she could reply he had heaved himself into a sitting position and was dragging her back into him by her waist. His teeth gnawed at the sensitive skin of her neck as his hands explored her body, one pinching at her nipple while the other travelled down her belly to her crotch, his fingers fumbling in between her folds clumsily and unskilfully, but enough to make her gasp. Her eyes rolled back as he groped her body, and she almost gave in when his finger slipped inside her, but she shook her head stubbornly.

“I have to leave”, she breathed, pushing at his hands as she tried to clamber away, but his arm wrapped itself around her torso as his hand crept up to her throat and began to squeeze lightly. She murmured at the sensation and felt Ivar’s hot breath in the crook of her shoulder as he bit down again, clutching her neck tighter, causing her to let out a strangled cry before he released his hold on her suddenly. Elena whimpered involuntarily and she heard Ivar snicker in amusement.

“Bend over” 

She looked to him quickly, debating whether to surrender to him. But she shook her head again swiftly, “I have to go”

He growled in frustration, scowling at her before pushing her forward roughly. She fell flat on her stomach, her head near his feet, and then with two swift movements he pulled one leg across the other side of his lap and dragged her hips into the air as she lay with the side of her face pressed into the bed. Ivar sat behind, giving himself a moment to admire her before running his hands along her cheeks and the back of her thighs. Elena made to push herself onto her elbows, but her movement was met with a hard slap on her backside. She yelped in pain, and he smacked her again. 

“Quiet” he grunted

“Iv- “

He spanked her again, so hard she felt her eyes start to water, but the pain was met with his lips soothing and kissing the spot where his hand had made contact and she found herself relaxing into his touch. His mouth travelled across her skin, paying special attention to where the red welts were appearing, until it stopped at the crease in between her cheeks. Elena gasped as his tongue circled her anus, lapping hungrily against the untouched entrance, then pushing inside of her. 

Ivar had to hold her up while he worked his tongue in and out of her, her strength weakening as his fingers slid back into her sex. She writhed against his touch, grinding her rear against his hand and mouth, her groans muffled as she pressed her face into bed. His thumb kneaded into her clitoris as his index finger stroked the sweet spot inside of her, all while his tongue flicked over her other hole. 

She came hard, her whole body tensing and her toes curling, but before she had even finished Ivar had reached over, grabbing her hair and yanking her back so she was knelt upright in front of him. He moved her into position easily, pressing her pelvis down as he lowered her onto his erection. They both emitted deep, guttural groans as she took in all of him, and slowly, began to move up and down. She moved clumsy, and awkwardly, having still not recuperated from her orgasm, but Ivar quickly took control and began to thrust upwards. He forced her to crouch above him, and held a painful grip on her hips as he plunged himself into her over and over. His legs throbbed with a dull pain from the strain he was putting on them, but he wouldn’t stop. 

He watched Elena come again, her head thrown backwards and the diminutive muscles in her back tensed as she cried out. He raked his nails down her spine and buttocks, and came with a jolt as he watched the angry red scratches appear on her pale skin, shooting his seed inside her. 

She collapsed on top of him, her back pressed against his torso. She could feel his laboured breathing as his chest lifted her up and down. She turned her face into the crook of his neck, and kissed the sharp corner of his jawline. 

“I really have to leave now”, she mumbled reluctantly, and pushed herself away, sitting on the edge of the bed and grabbing her dress once more.

“Meet me back here” He said, the smallest hint of pleading in his voice. Elena frowned as she looked at Ivar with a confused expression, “Er, I always do…”, she said, pulling her dress over her head and standing up to yank it down over her legs, Ivar pouted as she covered herself, her backside disappearing under the white linen. 

“I don’t mean tonight, stupid girl” He snapped, stretching forward, reaching for the material of her skirt and pulling her back into him. He pressed his nose into the small of her back as his hands wandered around to her front, groping in between her legs again, 

“Come back today. Let me have you in the light. I want to fuck you outside, while the sun is shining on your naked tits”, he murmured. 

Elena let her eyes close as he circled her still sensitive clit through the cloth, “I can’t”, she whispered and his fingers began to move faster, 

“You would rather sit and do your needlework then let me do this?” His fingers pressed into her folds through the material as his teeth pinched the flesh on her backside. 

Elena gasped and pulled away instinctively, but quickly pushed herself back towards his face, letting his teeth bury themselves into her rear again, “No”, she croaked through laboured pants, “No, but… I have…. I have to spend…. Ahh” His fingers pushed harder and harder, “I have to spend the day with Godric”

His fingers stayed pressed against her, but they had stopped moving the moment she had said his name. There were a few seconds of silence, and Ivar slowly moved his fingers away, pushing his face away her rear, Elena turned round at the loss of contact and saw his lips were tightened in a thin white line, his expression sulking and brooding, “What?”, she asked, looking at his scowl, “What is wrong?”

He glared at her viciously but said nothing as he grabbed his braces and began to fasten them around his wrists.

“I promised my Father I would” Elena said, realising what had changed his mood so quickly, “He is to be my husband”

“You’re choosing to be with _him_ , instead of me?” He spat, glaring up at her from where he sat on the bed

“I’m not _choosing_ anything, Ivar” She said, reaching for his face only for him to bat her hand away, “I don’t have a choice in this…in anything”

Ivar shook his head, pulling his face in disgust, “You are talking horse shit” He reached for his breeches and began pulling them over his feet, “ _You_ are choosing to go to him”, He jabbed a finger at her, “You are choosing that”

Elena sat on her knees and helped him pull the breeches up his frail legs. He let her, reluctantly, but only because he could feel the pain in them worsening and he knew it would be agony to do it himself. “If I had any choice at all I would never leave this cabin. But you are leaving tomorrow, and he is to be my husband”, she said, blinking her eyes quickly to prevent the tears that began to brim at the surface. Ivar lifted his lower half off the bed with his knuckles as Elena tugged the material over his hips, then pushed her off him lightly, “Get away from me” he grunted, gesturing her away with a flick of his hand, “Go to him then”

“Ivar… “

“Go to him!” He roared, spittle flying from his mouth

Elena’s own temper rose like a fire inside as she watched his eyes darken with anger and his fists clench at his side “You are like a child, Ivar!” she yelled, pushing his shoulders roughly as she stood up, “I hate you!”

“And you are a whore” He spat, glaring at her back as she stormed towards the door

Elena turned abruptly at his words, grabbed the closest thing to her and threw it with all her strength at Ivar. The jug of ale skimmed over his head and smashed against the wall behind him, the pieces shattering all over the bed beside him, and Elena swiftly hurried outside. The door slammed shut at the very moment Ivar’s axe landed in the wood. He sat on the bed, breathing angrily through his nose and glaring at the axe he has thrown. Acting on impulse he clambered from the bed and stalked out of the cabin, intent on finding her and – He stopped. 

Elena was stood in the clearing, her back to the hut, staring into the thicket of trees surrounding them. Dawn was breaking through the dark clouds of the sky, and as he crawled towards her he could see the fearful expression on her face clearly. His anger dissipated instantaneously, and he touched the back of her leg lightly making her jump in fright. He held his hand up in appeasement, to show her he was no longer angry. Her shoulders relaxed just a little, but her face still carried worry lines above her eyebrows, as she looked back towards the woods.

“What is wrong?” He asked, following her gaze, but seeing nothing except the shadows in between the trees

“I thought I saw….” She stopped, biting her lower lip, feeling foolish

“What?”

She looked down at Ivar, and sighed in resignation, “I thought I saw someone… Over there”, She pointed to the large oak tree at the edge of the clearing, “It looked like someone was watching the cabin… And then they disappeared”

They both stayed silent, watching the trees and listening intently for any sounds out of the ordinary. Ivar was about to open his mouth to tell her that it was probably a deer, when he heard the unmistakeable sound of somone walking across dry leaves and twigs. Elena must have heard it too, as she gasped and looked to Ivar. He held a finger up to silence her, and tilted his head to listen further. The sound was fading, and Ivar figured whoever it was, was walking away from them and not to them.

“They are leaving… Whoever it is” Ivar muttered, glaring into the trees

Elena didn’t say anything at first, but a chill went up her spine as she wondered how long they had been stood so close to the cabin. Ivar’s hand creeping up her calf stirred her from her thoughts, and she looked down at him, his devilish blue eyes looking back at her. She tried to glare at him, to show him that she was still mad at him, but her lips betrayed her and she smiled back at him, crouching to his level and taking his face in her hands, “I still hate you”, she muttered, kissing his lips. His hand gripped her around her chin and pulled her closer, his tongue fighting its way inside her mouth. She could hear his breaths getting shorter and his hand moving away from her face and working its way down to her legs and she pulled away quickly before they could start again, “I really have to go”, she panted. To her surprise, Ivar nodded and released his hold on her. She stood up, and Ivar turned to crawl back to the cabin, “Wait there”, he grunted.

“Why?” Elena asked, but he had already crawled inside, the door swinging shut behind him. Elena stared back to the trees warily as she waited for Ivar, morning had broken through fully now, and she knew that the kitchen would be full of servants by now, she wouldn’t be able to get back in through the fireplace. It meant she would have to walk through the castle entrance, the guards and everyone else who would be starting their daily chores would see her. She would have to think of an excuse as to why she was already out. Just then, Ivar came back out of the cabin, His tunic back on, and his belts tied back around legs.

“Come”, He said, crawling past her towards the woods

“What are you doing?” Elena asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she watched him pass her

“I am taking you back to the castle” He said

“No. If there is somebody out there they can’t see us together” She started

“If there is somebody out there then I will not have you walk alone” He snapped, “Come, or do I have to drag you?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long AF chapter, sorry guys

“What in God’s name is that on your neck?”

Elena’s hand instinctively went up to where she knew her Father was looking. She had made her servant Edyth leave her hair down and loose because of them, and she quickly pulled her hair forward, covering the marks Ivar had left behind. 

“It is nothing. A graze… “She mumbled, taking a cautious sip from her chalice

“From doing something foolish no doubt” Her Father sighed, “You weren’t trying to climb to the top of the walls again, were you? Because as I have told you a hundred times, if they could be so easily climbed they wouldn’t be called defence walls”

“Father- “Elena started, rolling her eyes, but was interrupted by the doors to the solar opening, and a boy servant standing in the entrance,

“Lord Godric of Norfolk” The boy announced, bowing as a tall, dark haired man walked past, looking down at him in disdain before ushering him to leave. Elena’s stomach dropped, she had hoped that him being so late meant he was cancelling. 

“Greetings” Godric said, nodding his head to Elena and her Father as he walked to his seat. He smiled at Elena, but she could only stare back, thinking to herself how even his smile was unpleasant. She jumped as her Father kicked her shin under the table, and she quickly smiled back, wondering afterwards if she had grinned too zealously, as he looked at her strangely before turning back to his plate. She pulled a face when she saw he was no longer looking, and felt another jolt in her leg as her Father glared at her. 

Godric and her Father spoke for hours, of things that disinterested her almost as much as the man himself did, and eventually she let her mind wander back to Ivar, his wicked smirk and all the ways he looked at her, though it was his glares she received more than any other. She vowed to think of him often once he was gone, she was sure it would be the only way she would stay sane without him. 

She was stirred from her thoughts by her Father’s chair screeching across the stone floor as he stood up. She realised with a start that he was leaving, that she would be left alone with Godric and she looked up at him, silently pleading for him to stay.

“I shall take my leave” He smiled, bowing to Godric and placing a reassuring hand on Elena’s shoulder before walking from the room. She turned reluctantly to face her future husband, who was watching her with an unusual look in his eye. She brushed her hair forward over her neck self-consciously and did her best attempt at a smile. 

“You were speaking with the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok”

The statement caught her unaware, and her eyes widened at the man in front of her.

“What were you saying?” He asked, his tone friendly and inquisitive, but his eyes showing a different emotion,

“Erm..” She coughed loudly, desperately trying to invent an answer, “N-nothing, really”

“What were they saying?”

“T-they were just asking about England...a-about life here” she stuttered, “I am the only one who speaks their language well enough to hold a conversation. S-sometimes they ask me questions”

Godric nodded, his eyes narrowing at her. She didn’t know why he made her feel so afraid, but she could barely make eye contact with him, as though allowing him to look into her eyes would be allowing him to read all of her thoughts. There was a lengthy silence between them, when suddenly he dropped his knife loudly onto his plate, “I don’t like it”, he said, sitting back in his chair and staring at her intently.

“What?” Elena asked, her mouth full of apricots. He looked at her distastefully and she swallowed quickly.

“You. Speaking their language”, He said, “Once we are married you will not speak in that tongue again”

“They are just words” She said defensively,

“They are the words of heretics, and I will not accept it”

“It is my Mother’s tongue, I have grown with those words”

He clucked his tongue, never moving his eyes from hers “And you will not speak of her again” He said, studying her face, waiting for her reaction, but Elena stayed silent, watching the way he observed her, not believing what he was saying.

“Your mother” He continued, ignoring her silence as a smugness began to appear on his features, “I would prefer it if your… _pagan roots_ … were kept quiet from now on”

Elena stared at him in disbelief

“And you will start attending worship with me. If we are to be married you will be seen as a good Christian woman” He clicked his fingers at the servant who stood silently in the corner, and gestured for them to fill his cup. He stared at Elena maliciously, his black eyes daring her to speak against him. She wanted to, the words were racing through her head, hundreds of words that she was desperate to say to him, but when she opened her mouth she fell mute. 

She had known that having to attend church would become part of her life once she was married, she had accepted it. Knowing she would always have her own, private, beliefs. But she was being asked to forget her mother, like she was some lewd secret. She wanted to throw her plate at him, see it ricochet off his skull and watch as the blood poured across his stupid face. She was so caught up in devising different ways to hurt him, that she didn’t realise he had begun talking again.

“What?” She asked, not hearing what he had said

He sighed in irritation “Things are going to change. _You_ are going to change”, he said, “Your clothing, for example”

Elena looked down at her dress, but had no time to argue before he was standing up and walking round to her. He leant against the table and looked down at her, eyes full of contempt, “And your hair. It should be pinned under a headdress, not left to hang loosely like you are some wild peasant”

“I will not wear a headdress”, she snapped finally, “You cannot force me to do anything. I will be your _wife_ , not your dog”

He was quiet as he watched her, staring at her face until she could feel herself turning red. The silence had her feel more on edge than if he had argued back. He suddenly began to reach his hand out, and she flinched when he touched her hair, lifting it in between his fingers. She saw a shift in his eyes and quickly realised what he was looking at. She snatched her hair away from him, brushing it shakily over her neck once more, and waited. 

Waited, her eyes wide and alarmed, for his reaction, for him to say something. But he said nothing. He only smiled at her, and slowly got to his feet, “You will do as I say. If I tell you to wear a headdress, you will wear a headdress. If I tell you to fall to your knees and bark like a dog, then you will do exactly that”, He stared at her for a moment longer, before kissing the top of her head softly, “It is time I took my leave, there is business I must tend to. I will see you this evening at the feast”.

Elena’s whole body was unnerved and taut, and it didn’t relax even after he had left. He had seen Ivar’s marks, and she could tell by the way he had looked at them that he knew what they were. The false smile, and feigned kindness of his voice didn’t fool her, but she wished it had, because she could feel the panic rising from pit of her stomach. She didn’t know how long she had been sat alone, deep in her own thoughts, but when her Father walked in she realised all the food and ale had been cleared away, and a new cloth draped over the table. 

She looked at him, she wanted to smile, to tell him she had been wrong about Godric, and that he no longer had to worry because she was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine. But it wasn’t. Her eyes filled with hot, angry tears and she couldn’t answer his questions, she could barely look at him as she stormed from the room and through the labyrinth of stone corridors. She walked past the gallery, an empty hall used as a corridor between the kitchen and bakery, when she felt, rather than saw something fly past her. She stood still in confusion, and this time something hit her in the leg, she picked up the jagged stone and looked down the Hall, gasping when she saw Ivar. 

She should have felt alarmed that he was there, that he would be seen, that they could be seen together, but all she felt was relief. She ran towards him, looking behind her only briefly to check no one was around before throwing herself onto him where he was perched on the large windowsill. 

Ivar was taken aback by her embrace, and froze as her arms wrapped around his neck. Slowly and hesitantly, he slid his arms around her waist, squeezing her gently before quickly releasing her, and looking down almost bashfully.

Elena couldn’t help but laugh, after everything they had done together he was made shy because of a hug, “What are you doing here?” she asked breathlessly, looking around her again for signs of anyone coming

“You wouldn’t come to me, so I came to you” He shrugged, “Where is this…. Husband, of yours”

Ivar felt his jaw tighten as he said the word husband and Elena’s face dropped at the thought of him. She pulled away from Ivar slightly, pushing the hair behind her ear silently. Ivar caught the change in her expression, and thought briefly about asking her what was wrong, but his attention veered when he saw the dark red splotch a few inches below her ear. He smirked wickedly and ran his finger over it, “Is that my doing?” He asked. 

Elena smiled and nodded as she bit her lip and, looking around once more, she pulled her hair into one grip and turned slowly, letting him see the red and purple bruises over her neck. His smile widened, and it took all the strength he had to not haul her on top of him and take her again right there. He pulled her into him slowly when her back was to him, and began kissing the marks over her skin.

“Let me see your back” He mumbled, fumbling with the lace at the top of her dress. Elena backed away from him, “Not here” she said, “If someone sees…”

Ivar rolled his eyes, “No one will see”, he snapped, “I crawled through your front doors without one person stopping me, and I have been sat here waiting since I saw you leave the Hall. No one will see”

Elena was startled at how long he had been there. He pulled her into him again, and reluctantly she let him undo the laces of her dress. She brushed her hair to the side so he could see her back fully as he opened her gown. She heard him hiss, and felt his fingers trail down her spine and across her shoulder blades, following the lines he had made with his nails that morning. She felt his finger slide further down, to her rear and in between her cheeks and she pulled away quickly, smiling widely when she saw the wicked look in his eyes.

“Not here” She warned, taking a cautious step back. He leaned back against the stained glass, staring at her with a strange look, a cocky, lopsided smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

“I am leaving tomorrow” He said suddenly, his blue eyes scanning her face for her reaction. Her eyes dropped, and she nodded softly, “I know”, she muttered, her Father had spent all week arranging a last feast for the Vikings, it had been at the forefront of her mind all morning.

“Come with me” He said, flicking his hand casually as his pushed his tongue into the inside of his cheek, his eyes never leaving hers. Elena stared at him, before a smile broke out across her face, “Come with you?” she laughed,

“What is funny?” He said, his face now stern and serious, “Come with me”

“Where?” she said, her smile fading as she frowned, wondering if he was being serious,

“Wherever I go” He shrugged

She sighed as she watched his blue eyes bore into hers, as if she hadn’t dreamed of doing just that for since she had met him, “I wish I could”

“You can”

“I can’t”

“Why”

“You know why, Ivar”

“You would prefer to stay here and marry that man?” He snarled, his arms folded across his lap as he leaned forward, his lips pursed into a scowl

“No” she said without hesitation

“Then come with me” He said, his features softening, but his voice still hard as he gathered her into him again, his hands gripping her ass once more as he pressed his lips against hers. Elena’s hands tangled themselves in the back of his hair as she nudged his legs to the side softly, pressing herself against the edge of the windowsill to get closer to him. His hands pulled fervently at her flesh on her backside, before tenderly letting his finger slide in between her legs.

There was a sudden sound of pots breaking and things crashing to the floor, Elena pulled away from Ivar quickly and spun around, gasping loudly when she saw Edyth stood at the end of the gallery, a heap of plates and chalices at her feet. The girl stood staring wide eyed at the couple, Elena's dress open, the scratches across her back plain to see and Ivar's hands gripping her rear. The girl turned quickly in the opposite direction and began running round the corner. 

“Oh no” Elena breathed, and made to run after her but Ivar’s hand grabbed her wrist, holding her still as he looked up at her, imploring her silently to answer his question.

“You need to go”, she whispered hurriedly,

“Meet me at the cabin” He said, not letting go of his grip on her. Elena looked back to the spot where Edyth had been, her eyes still wide in panic, and she turned back to Ivar nodding, “Yes” she said, and he released her arm, watching her chase down the hall after the servant girl. 

 

 

He waited at the cabin. He sat outside, listening for the sounds of her arrival as he cleaned his axes for the fourth time. He didn’t care that the servant girl had seen them together, he didn’t care if anyone had seen them together. Let them. If she came with him it wouldn’t matter who had seen them anyway. 

He waited. He waited a long time, and saw the sky changing colour as dusk began to approach. He looked to the trees, frowning at her absence, wondering if he should make his way to the castle to find her.

It was then that he heard someone approaching from behind, knowing from that direction that it wouldn’t be Elena he gripped his axe and turned his body, memories of that morning and Elena’s face when she thought someone was there firm in his mind. He saw their silhouette before he saw them, and hurled his axe at them, intending to scare them rather than injure them, he wanted to know who they were. It struck the tree behind them, landing inches from their head, and he saw them jerk away, crouching with their hands over their heads.

“Ivar!” they shouted, “Ivar, it’s me!”

It was Ubbe. He watched as his brother slowly straightened himself out, before yanking the axe from the tree and walking into the clearing, scowling at Ivar.

“What are you doing here?” Ivar spat, snatching his axe back and glaring up at him, 

“I have come to tell you that everyone is leaving for the castle, even some of the women. I wondered if you were joining us”

Ivar stared at his brother silently for a moment, before looking towards the trees that still showed no sign of Elena and sighed heavily, “Yes”

Ubbe nodded, satisfied

“How did you know where to find me?” Ivar asked, as he sheathed his axe and tightened the belts around his leg

“You think you can disappear each night without me finding out where it is you go?” Ubbe said, ruffling his hair playfully while Ivar batted his hands away

“Was it you this morning?” He asked, narrowing his eyes

Ubbe frowned, “Was what me?” 

“Elena saw someone. Outside the cabin” He said, watching his brothers face as he shook his head. Ivar shrugged, he cared not anyway. He climbed down from where he sat, and began to crawl through the trees towards the castle, glaring at Ubbe’s joking offer of carrying him there.

 

 

They reached the castle when the sky was still a deep shade of orange. Every man from their camp was there, a goblet of ale in hand. Ivar had sat through the feast until the sky had turned black, picking at the food that Ubbe would throw on his plate, feigning smiles when one of the men would jest, all the while scanning the Hall for Elena. He looked towards where the Earl sat, to the corners of the room, at the servants that would huddle together whenever a Viking came close. But he could see her nowhere. 

His mood worsened the longer the night went on. He wondered if she was staying away from him on purpose, avoiding him because of what he had asked her. But more than that, he couldn’t help feeling as though something was wrong, Elena wouldn’t shy away from him, she wasn’t afraid of him. He waited. Noting each guard in the room, watching as they got rowdier with drink, as conversations got louder and as their speech became slurred and eyelids became heavier. 

And slowly, he slipped from his seat and crawled through the legs of men he didn’t care to look at. He reached the door and quickly slithered away from the feast. He looked briefly towards the blackness of the courtyard, before turning and heading further into the castle. He crawled through the halls, looking into open rooms and slowly pushing on unlocked doors, searching for her. 

He saw a small girl walk across the connecting hallway to the kitchen, and recognising her as Edyth, he clambered after her. The kitchen froze in shock as Ivar crawled through the entrance. The servants stopped to watch as the crippled Viking dragged himself across the floor. He scanned their faces irritably as he pushed through, and Edyth almost fell on top of him as she turned the corner, squealing quietly in surprise. He saw the recognition in her face as she looked at him and he growled as she tried to turn and run the opposite way, but he was too quick for her and his hand shot out, gripping the hem of her dress so she couldn’t get away. She pulled, trying to wrench the material from his hand, whimpering fearfully as she did, but Ivar was too strong and with one quick yank she had fallen to her knees, her nose and inch away from Ivars.

“Where is she?” He growled as she began to cry, 

“Where is she?” He roared, she didn’t understand what he was saying as his hand moved from her dress to her thin arm, gripping it painfully as the other servants stood and watched, no one wanting to risk helping her. 

“Elena!” He yelled, trying to say the one word he knew she would understand, “Elena! Where is she?!” 

He watched as her eyes changed, now aware of what he was asking her. But he saw the fear appear on her face when he said her name, and a sinking feeling began to manifest itself in the pit of his stomach, “Where is she?!” He bellowed, shaking her roughly, flinging her around like she was no more than a doll as she sobbed violently.

He felt a touch on his shoulder and swung round, ready to fend off whoever was behind him. A woman stood up, holding her hands out in surrender to show him she meant no harm, Ivar was panting heavily in both anger and panic and he nodded impatiently for her to continue. 

“Elena” she said quietly, and then gestured for him to come with her as she walked out of the kitchen. Ivar took one last glance behind him at Edyth, who was on the floor weeping as the other servants comforted her, before following the woman in front of him. She took him along corridors he had already crawled through, and pushed open a door that he had thought locked, leading to another long corridor. She paused as she stepped through, and Ivar waited impatiently behind her, she pointed to the very end of the gallery where the wall jutted out at a corner, 

“Elena” she whispered softly, and Ivar began to crawl forward hurriedly but she ran in front of him, forcing him to stop as she crouched down, he tried to push her out of the way but she held his hands as she spoke quickly and hastily, he understood little, catching the words ‘friends’ and ‘help’, but her words were coming out in such quick succession he could interpret little else.

“I don’t know what you are saying” He growled in frustration, and the woman sighed, “Guards”, she said in Norse, she spoke again in English, slowly and clearly, as she gestured to the door they had just walked through, and at once he understood what she was trying to tell him. Guards were outside her door, he would need help. 

He nodded, as politely as he could muster to a Christian, and quickly turned around, crawling as fast as his arms would pull him back to the Great Hall. He looked for Ubbe and dragged himself towards him, yanking on the material of his tunic. Ubbe turned and grinned at his brother, grabbing a chalice from a passing servant and handing it to him. Ivar knocked it away angrily, scowling up at him,

“I need you to come with me” he growled

Ubbe nodded without hesitation, and listened as Ivar spoke in a low, hurried voice. Ivar hated to ask for help, it made him feel weak, but it was different with Ubbe. Ivar told him everything, how they had been caught by that wretched servant girl. How she was supposed to meet him back at the cabin. How she was nowhere to be seen at the Hall. How he knew something was wrong, how the servant was afraid when he knew he was looking for her, and how there were guards posted outside her door. And now he needed Ubbe’s help to get inside.

Ubbe knew what Ivar meant when he said he needed help to get inside and he looked at his younger brother doubtfully, “Ivar, this could destroy everything we have worked towards”

“I don’t care” Ivar spat, glaring at his older brother before shaking his head, “Fine. I will do it myself you coward”, and he crawled angrily from the Hall, only to find Ubbe following closely behind. 

He shrugged as he looked down at his brother, gripping the axe in his belt readily, “I can’t let you have all the fun can I brother?”, he smiled. 

Ivar allowed himself a small smirk before concentrating on getting to her chambers. They each pulled on their axes as they reached the final corridor, turning the corner and eyeing the two guards that stood outside the large brown door. The first thing Ivar noticed was the colour of their tunics, they weren’t the Earls colours. But there was no time to wonder as the guards stood to attention at the sight of the two Vikings, looking to each other in shock, before pulling their swords from their scabbards, but it was too late. The Vikings had already moved in on them. Ubbe pounded the hilt of his axe into the skull of the closest one, knocking him unconscious in a matter of seconds, whilst Ivar swung his axe across the other’s shins. Blood spluttered out and the guard fell to the floor in a scream of agony. Ivar lifted his axe, ready to plunge it into his chest, but was stopped by Ubbe grabbing his arm and shaking his head, before ramming his foot into the Saxons face, leaving him out cold. 

They approached the door, opening it slowly. The room appeared silent and empty as they crept inside, Ubbe holding his axe ready for any more attacks. Ivar spotted her at the same time as a woman began to scream hysterically from the corner of the room as she watched the Vikings enter. Ivar nodded to Ubbe quickly to take care of her, while he crawled frantically towards Elena.

She was lay face down on a bed that was pushed crudely against the stone wall. A single, brown woollen sheet covering her body. All he could see was her matted brown hair draped across the pillow, but he knew it was her. He pulled himself up and leant on his elbows against the bed, speaking her name softly and stroking her hair tentatively. She was silent and Ivar held his breath in fear. Until he heard her strangled whimper, and his shoulders relaxed slightly. He touched the small of her back gently in an attempt to stir her, and she cried out in pain, making Ivar jump in surprise. Elena lifted her head and turned to look at the man knelt beside her, before she dropped tiredly to the pillow once more.  
Ivar hissed through his teeth as he looked at her face. Her blood shot eyes, and the raw, tender skin around them, the large gash through her eyebrow ending at her hairline and her swollen, cut lips. His teeth clenched in anger as he looked at her and he slowly began to move the sheet from her body.

“No!” she croaked, trying to grab the sheet before he could pull it down, but the movement made her hiss in pain and she had to freeze, “Please don’t look, please”  
Ivar paused, looking at her face as she pleaded with him, tears streaming from her eyes, then he looked at her back, and ignoring her pleas, began pulling the sheet away again. Elena sobbed and buried her face into the pillow, not wanting to see his face when he saw her.

Ivar’s whole body shook with rage as he looked at her naked body, his fist clenched the sheet that was still in his hand until the anger burst inside of him and he roared loudly. Ubbe came to stand beside him, studying the girl lay on the bed, clucking his tongue as he looked at the raw, open lacerations across her back and buttocks. They were thin and narrow, but they were long and deep and oozing slowly with blood, staining her surrounding skin the same colour.

“She’s been flogged” Ubbe remarked

Ivar glared at his brother, “Do you really think so, Ubbe?”, he snapped sarcastically, throwing the cover back over her body and placing a hand on her head protectively, “I am taking her”, he muttered

Ubbe looked down to his brother, not surprised at his words. He had known the minute he agreed to help Ivar what it would lead to, he had known that whatever had happened to her he wouldn’t be willing to leave her there, “Bjorn will have to know”, he said

“So, go tell him” He said with a flick of his hand, as he stared at the back of Elena’s head

“The Earl will not let you take her so easily, nor will her husband” Ubbe warned

“He is not her husband yet” Ivar spat,

Ubbe turned away, the woman who was still in the room with them was crouched on the floor, shaking and whimpering hysterically, he used the same technique he had with the guards, and knocked her with the hilt of his axe to quieten her, she fell to the floor in a slump, and he walked out to find his brothers.

Ivar stroked Elena’s hair, coaxing her to look at him. She slowly turned her head, but wouldn’t meet his eye. He kissed her softly on her forehead as his thumb stroked away her tears. Elena stirred, he had never done anything so gentle before, and she looked up at him.

“Who did this?” He asked, trying to keep his voice low and soft, but Elena could hear the anger behind it. 

She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears again, and swallowed hard, “Godric” she croaked,

“Godric?”

Elena nodded, “Edyth told him. She told him about us, about what she saw us doing, and then he saw me trying to leave— “she couldn’t stop the words from pouring, and she gulped in the air, trying to catch her breath “—He saw me trying to leave, and he knew where I was going. He knew. It was him this morning, it was one of his men, they followed me there. And then he bought me in here, I thought he was just going to tell my Father that he was no longer going to marry me but he... he saw the marks, your marks on my back and he... he did this, he— “

Ivar hushed her when he saw her becoming upset and gripped her hair as he pressed his lips against her head, looking to the door, wishing his brothers would hurry. He jumped when he felt Elena’s touch on his face, and looked down at her, surprised to see she had the trace of a smile on her lips, “I have seen that face once before”, she murmured

Ivar frowned at her

“You had the same expression the first time I removed your breeches” she smirked, wincing as the cut on her lip opened. Ivar rolled his eyes, “Shut up, woman” he muttered, but smirked back at her briefly. He heard his brother’s voices, and straightened his back.

Bjorn was the first to walk inside the room, looking from the guards lay outside the door to the woman slumped against the wall, Ubbe at his side, “What has happened?” He asked, his voice quiet but stern.

“I am taking her” Ivar said bluntly, “She is coming with us”

“She is the Earls daughter”

“And she is coming with me” Ivar said stubbornly

“If we take her then all these weeks have been for nothing” Sigurd snapped, coming up behind his older brothers, “Do you really think the Earl will just let you walk out with his daughter? He will take the lands from us”

“I don’t care what the Earl does!” Ivar roared. He exhaled through his nose as he stared at the sheet covering Elena’s back, before grudgingly pulling it away to show his brothers. He looked at the wounds again, and was met with the urge to place his lips over every one, to lick and suck the blood while trailing his tongue along each of them. 

He was stirred from his thoughts by Bjorn stepping over and throwing the sheet back across her body. He stood in front of him, “They will not allow us to just carry her out of the door” Bjorn said, eyeing Ivar warily, “They will be angry. They will see this as treachery”

Sigurd threw his hands in the air and walked to the corner, folding his arms as he realised where Bjorn was heading. 

“If we are lucky we might leave without being seen, but we are not always lucky” He turned to Hvitserk and Sigurd, “Warn the men. Have them be prepared”

Hvitserk nodded and turned, Sigurd following closely behind scowling unhappily, “Can you lift her?” Bjorn turned to Ubbe, Ivar made to object as he watched Ubbe step towards the bed. 

“Can _you_ carry her?” Bjorn asked, as he saw his face. 

Ivar glared in return, sullenly pushing away from Elena as Ubbe carefully put his arms underneath her and lifted her up. She whimpered as he shifted his hold on her, adjusting her into a position that wouldn’t cause her as much pain, “Put your arms around my neck” Ubbe muttered, ignoring Ivar’s scowls as he pulled the sheet around her body, Elena did as she was told, then buried her face into his chest, ashamed of what was happening. 

Bjorn put a hand on Ivar’s shoulder before they moved, holding him in place, “We get her out, and fight who we have to. Do not go looking for the man who did this, we cannot afford to lose any men until we reach the next settlement”

The three brothers made their way through the castle, Bjorn and Ivar in front, Ubbe behind. Ivar turned his head to look at him as the entrance to the Great Hall came into view, “Do not try to stay and fight” He snarled at his older brother, “Take her to the camp”

Ubbe hadn’t chance to reply before they walked straight into a band of the Earl’s soldiers. There was a pause between them all, the soldiers not understanding what was happening, nor why they had their weapons at hand. Elena lifted her head to see why they had stopped, and one guard recognised her at once. He spun on his feet and tried to run back to the Earl, but Ivar’s axe landed in between his shoulders before he could reach the doors. 

Bjorn managed to glare at his brother irritatedly, before the other soldiers unsheathed their swords, pointing them at the brothers. At the same moment Hvitserk, Sigurd and a handful of men emerged from the Hall behind the soldiers, their axes and spears at the ready. The men stayed tense, looking from one another, waiting tentatively for someone to make the first move. Ivar slowly pulled the spear from his belt, and prepared himself, smirking in anticipation, more than ready to spill a little Christian blood, when the Earl came running out of the Hall, surrounded by guards, and the rest of the Vikings not far behind.

“What is going on here. What is hap— “The Earl stopped as he looked down at the dead soldier, a Viking axe in his back, “What has happened? I demand to know what has happened!”

Elena craned her neck to look at her Father, the Earl’s eyes widened in surprise as he noticed her, “What do you think you are doing with my daughter?”, he asked, staring at Ubbe,

“We are taking her” Ivar snarled

The Earl looked from Ivar, to Bjorn, then back to Ubbe and his daughter, stupefied, “Y-you can’t do that…By God what have you done to her?” he said, staring at her injured face,  
“Ask your Lord” Ubbe sneered, as Godric made his way through the crowd of men. Ivar gripped the spear so tightly, his hand began to shake, his face tight in a blazing anger at the man only a few feet in front of him. The Earl looked to Godric in puzzlement, but Godric only stared boldly at Ivar, “What are you talking about?”

Using all the self-control he had, Ivar managed to turn his glare back to the Earl, “Tell me, Earl. What kind of man would want his daughter to marry a man who could do this to her?”, He looked at Ubbe, gesturing for him to show them Elena’s back. Ubbe hesitated as Elena buried her face into his shoulder again, but Ivar urged him to continue and slowly he pulled the sheet away, revealing her marked skin, “This is your doing”, Ivar spat as the Earl gasped, holding his hand over his mouth.

Godric smirked briefly, before slowly walking backwards, away from the crowd and back into the Hall. Ivar was staring so intently at the Earl that he didn’t see him leave. Things happened quickly after that, Ivar didn’t see how it started, but within seconds the Earl was being dragged away, and weapons were clanging against each other as men swung at one another ferociously. Ivar dragged a man to the ground and plunged his spear into his neck before turning to Ubbe and screaming for him to take Elena away.

Ubbe was already coursing through the men and racing out of the door, Elena cried out in pain as he ran across the courtyards and through the village, his arms rubbing roughly against her wounds with each step. She didn’t know how long it had taken them to reach the Vikings encampment, it had felt like hours to her, she thought the journey would never end, when the air around them seemed to change. Ubbe slowed to a steady walk, and there was a distinct smell of smoked meat, metal and leather, Elena tried to turn her head to see just as they walked into a tent, so all she saw was the dark material of the shelter flapping above her, before she was placed down on her stomach on what felt like a bed of straw. She felt Ubbes arms leave her, and heard his footsteps as he left the tent, leaving her alone. She lifted her head, it was dark, almost pitch black apart from the scant light of a fading candle across the room. The scent of fennel, and other plants wafted around her face, reminding her of her mother’s cabin and the thought of her mother made her lose the little strength she had left and she found herself burying her face into the fur under her head and sobbing violently. 

She jumped when she felt someone’s hand grip her own, and was surprised to find Ubbe sat beside the bed looking at her. The room was lighter now and she could see he had lit a number of candles around the tent and she smiled at him weakly, “I am sorry”, she muttered quietly.

“Ah” He started, waving his free hand dismissively, “I am only sorry that I had to leave the fight without taking a few Christian heads with me”


	10. Chapter 10

The wounds weren’t as severe as they had looked the night before. Ivar watched from across the small room of the tent as the healer peeled the stained bandages away from Elena’s back. He waited until the woman had moved away to fetch fresh ones before climbing down from the stool he had been sat on all night, and crawled over to the bed. He pulled himself up, leaning on the wooden frame with his elbows as he stared at her closed eyes, pushing her bedraggled hair away from her face to see her better. His gaze moved down to the red stripes etched like crudely drawn lines across her back. He let his finger brush down her spine, tracing each scar as he leant in closer, mesmerised by the raw flesh underneath her pale skin. His hand moved down into the small of her back, then up across the curve of her buttocks as he trailed after each mark.

“I think your hands are on my arse more than they are on your axe”

Ivar looked up as Elena’s muffled voice roused him from his daze, “I thought you were sleeping”, he mumbled, his hand still lingering on her rear.

“So you thought you would take advantage whilst I was unconscious?”, she smirked

“Shut up woman”, he grunted, removing his touch and folding his arms under his chin. He shifted up the bed as the healer returned, his face now level with Elena’s, making brief eye contact before turning his head to watch as the woman slathered ointment across her skin and placed fresh poultices over her body, Elena winced as she rubbed them into her back with heavy hands.

“Are you in great pain?” Ivar’s voice was low as he saw her flinch and glared at the healer. 

She shrugged, “It is just sore, I have been in worse pain”

Ivar scoffed loudly as he turned to look at her again, “You? What was it, your woman pains?”

If Elena could have hit him without causing herself more hurt she would have, “No”, she snapped, pulling a face at him, “I tried to climb one of the castle walls once, but I’m not very good at climbing, so I fell, and I broke the bone in my arm. And my Father’s stupid healer had hands like an ox. I swear my arm was just badly bruised until that brute got his hold on it. Every man in Hereford must have heard my screams”

“A heroic tale” Ivar muttered, allowing himself to smile as she tried unsuccessfully to flick his nose. They sat in silence as the healer continued to fuss over the bandages, staring awkwardly at anything but each other. Elena watched as his gaze kept darting to her back, a strange look in his eyes and she bit her swollen lip unhappily, “Do I look truly hideous now?”, she asked quietly.

Ivar looked at her in confusion, but wasn’t given the chance to reply as a commotion sounded loudly outside the tent. Loud voices, shouts and the sound of men running across the camp made the three inside turn their heads. Ivar pushed away from the bed to see what was happening just as a man Elena had never seen before barged through the entrance, looking around the room breathlessly, his eyes falling on Ivar as he bowed his head slightly, “You are wanted outside”, 

Ivar nodded and crawled wordlessly through the open flap, Elena craned her neck round and had saw the way the man’s eyes flitted to hers uncomfortably before he left, leaving her stomach clenched nervously. 

She was still staring anxiously at the place he had been stood when the healer tapped her side and gestured for her to stand. She slowly clambered on to her knees, sparing only a brief thought for her modesty as she hauled herself off the bed back to front. The effort pained her, but not near as much as she had been expecting, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled herself upright. She tried to silently encourage the woman to pull the dress over her head as quickly as possible, desperate to see what was happening outside, lifting her hands in the air even though it pulled painfully on the poultices wrapped around her body. She waited until the healer had turned away and stepped tentatively towards the exit, pulling the sheet of material away carefully as she peered her head through the gap. 

The noise had quietened, but she could still see men walking past with weapons in hand and her eyes followed them towards the edge of the camp where a crowd had gathered. She could see the top of Bjorns head, stood at the front, and it didn’t take long for her to spot Ivar at their legs. She could hear the obvious sounds of arguing, recognising Ivar’s voice amid all the bickering. She watched as his expression turned dark with anger, but was unable to uderstand what he was saying until his roar of “ **NO!** ” bellowed across the camp. He turned and began to crawl furiously towards the tent and she jumped back inside just as the healer tapped her on the shoulder, looking at her disapprovingly, “Their business is no business of yours”, she snapped

“Except it most likely is”, she mumbled under her breath, crossing her arms over her chest, waiting for Ivar’s return. It was only a moments wait before he clambered back inside, glowering madly as he pulled himself onto the bed. She waited silently for him to speak, listening as he breathed heavily through his nose, but he said nothing.

“What has happened?”, she asked warily

“Nothing”, he snapped, but looked towards the healer, glaring at her so viciously that she bowed stiffly and took her leave.

“Ivar?”, Elena said as she watched the woman leave, “Ivar, what is it?”

His eyes shifted sideways and back, scowling as he refused to meet her eye, as though he was arguing with himself about whether to tell her, “It is your Father”, he grunted eventually

Elena gasped, her eyes widening as she tried to find the words through her incoherent thoughts. She had forgotten about her Father, she hadn’t even given him a second thought, and a wave of guilt washed over her, closely followed by a nauseating fear, “What? What is it? Is he dead?”

“No” He mumbled, still not looking at her. His expression tense with a mixture of anger and reluctance. Whatever it was he didn’t want to tell her. He paused for a long while, and just as Elena was about to open her mouth he spoke again, “He has been deposed. Godric is the Earl now”

“Where is he? What has he done with him? Wh—“

“—I don’t know” Ivar snapped, meeting her eyes for the first time since he’d re-entered the tent. He was looking at her, but it was as though he was staring straight through her, “Godric has demanded your return”, 

Elena knew it. She knew the moment Ivar had told her Godric was the Earl that he would want her back. Marrying her would only cement his claim over her Father, who had been unloved by many in the village since he married a pagan, “Well I have to go back”, she decided

“No”

“I have t—“

“ **I SAID NO!** ” He barked,

“Ivar I have to!”, she snapped, stomping her foot childishly, “I don’t know where my Father is, if he is there or if he is… I have to”

“He will kill your Father either way”, Ivar spat, “If you go back or not your Father is dead”

“Don’t” Her bottom lip began to tremble as he spoke, glaring at her, his blue eyes full of venom,

“Do you really think he will let your Father live? He has just claimed his earldom, he will kill him the minute you go back, if he is not dead already”

“I can’t just stay here and do nothing!” Elena yelled back, her fists clenching at her side as angry tears began to fall down her cheek

Ivar scowled at her, his lips pursed and tight as he exhaled heavily through his nostrils, “Fine” he growled through gritted teeth, “Go”

Elena stared at him, eyes wet with tears 

“GO!” He roared, spittle flying from his mouth, but before Elena could do anything he had climbed from the bed and was crawling from the room, all she could do was watch as he stormed out. She walked to where he had been and fell to the bed, hissing loudly in pain as she sat on her wounds, making her even angrier. She kicked at the table leg in frustration, and screamed loudly to herself before shoving her face into her hands, sobbing furiously.

 

Ivar crawled past his brothers, refusing to look as Ubbe called his name, he didn’t want to listen to anything else they had to say, for fear of what he would do as much as not liking what would be said. Godric had offered to keep their deal with the lands in return for Elena, and Ivar was the only one not willing to bow to the demands of a Christian. His brothers were fools. He dragged himself into the thicket of trees, his hands scraping painfully across the ground. He hadn’t put his braces back on with everything that had happened, but he didn’t care, he barely felt anything but his anger. It was only when he saw the familiar clearing, that he realised where was, and it only served to make him angrier at Elena for wanting to leave him, but at least in the cabin he could be alone.

Had he not been so absorbed in his anger he would have heard the steps closing in around him and the pull of arrows. But it was only when they were pointed metres from his face that he realised he was surrounded. He stopped, glaring at the men, counting nine. They were Saxons, each with an arrow and a sword at their side. He pushed his tongue into his cheek, smirking in amusement as he waited for his death. Until he saw the man walking through the small gap in between the men, and he laughed loudly, leisurely pulling himself onto a tree stump, smirking cockily as the man came to stand in front of him. 

 

Elena stood beside the grey-haired horse, stroking it tenderly as she waited for Bjorn. She was going to tell him of her decision, and she hoped he would take her quickly so she wouldn’t have to see the anguished look of fury on Ivar’s face again. The thought of Ivar pained her more than the wounds on her back, she had felt an unfamiliar feeling of contentment knowing she was going to be with him, that he wanted to take her with him. And now she had to go back. She had to go back to Godric, and her hands trembled at the mere thought of what he would do when she got there. 

“I wish I was a horse”, she muttered as she buried her hands into the horses mane and leant her head against its neck, ”I bet you don’t get forced into marrying wicked beasts like Godric. You just get to eat, and go on walks, and maybe get dragged into battle if you’re lucky; or unlucky. I don’t know how horses feel about combat”

“You are talking to horses now?”

Elena jumped and whirled around quickly, wincing in pain at the movement. She saw Ivar, stooped beside a tree near the edge of the thickets, watching her with a look of amusement. Her face burned in embarrassment, but she hadn’t yet forgotten his earlier words so she narrowed her eyes at him and turned back round wordlessly. 

“Come with me”

She heard him speak but kept her eyes focused on the horse

“She is deaf now as well I see” Ivar smirked, “I said come”

“Ivar I am going, I have already spoken to your brothers” she lied, looking over her shoulder at him

“Shut up, stupid woman and come with me”

She turned her body fully to face him now, staring at him derisively, “Why?”

“If you come then you will see” He said, before crawling away

Something in his face made her want to follow him, she stared at the back of his head before giving in and walking behind him. They made their way through the trees silently, it wasn’t long before she saw the familiar clearing and she knew instantly where he was taking her. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of what they would do when they were, but chewed her lip in worry, wondering if he would find her body repulsive now she had those disgusting marks all over it. She looked to the cabin and stopped, there were Saxon guards outside the door. She recognised them. She knew them. They were close to her Father. She looked to Ivar, silently asking him what was going on, but he wouldn’t meet her eye.

The guards outside the cabin moved aside wordlessly as she approached the door, she made sure to frown at them as she always did while pushing her way inside, she turned quickly to look for Ivar behind her, seeing him nowhere, but there was no time to wonder where he had gone before she was pulled into a tight embrace, forcing her to draw back in pain as whoever it was pressed against her injuries. 

“Elena”

It was her Father. She forgot all about Ivar and her back, and threw herself onto him. Her face burying into his long grey hair, smelling the familiar smell of wine and smoke.

“Are you ok? What did they do to you, did they hurt you?” Her Father said, taking her face into his hands, examining the bruises across her cheekbones.

“Who…? The? No, no they have looked after me well”

He pulled her into him again, his arms wrapping tightly around her neck as he kissed her head, “We must leave soon, we haven’t got much time. I have sent word to your uncle in Wessex. We will stay with him until we can think of the next plan of action”

“Father I—“ Elena started

“We don’t have long befo—“

“Father” She snapped, staring at the man in front of her chewing her lip before speaking, “I don’t want to go to Wessex”

He stared at her, wide-eyed and confused, “Wh-Where do you want to go then? I have a... I have a sister in Wincester? I could ask her for help but we would have to go—“

“—No. No I don’t want to go…” She sighed and looked to her feet, her hands fumbling together nervously, already feeling ludicrous for what she was about to say, “I want to go with… with Ivar”

“Ivar?”

She nodded, unable to meet his eye

“Ivar…the Viking? The crippled son?”

“Yes”

“I see” He stepped backwards and sat carefully on the bed, rubbing his knees silently for what seemed like an extremely long time, before he coughed loudly and stood up, “Well then. You must go with him”

Elena looked up in surprise, she had been expecting an argument, for him to tell her what a foolish idea that was. She felt foolish, “I must?”

“Yes”, he said determinedly, “You think of me as an imprudent old man, but I have eyes, and I see more than you think. Elena, you are every bit the Viking that your mother was, and people around here see that, it is why you have always been an outsider. If being with this…with Ivar, is what is going to make you happy then yes you must go. All I have ever wanted for you, is for you to be happy. It is foolish of me to have not known that it would be a Viking that you needed, you are the embodiment of your mother. It is why I love you so. And so, yes. I think that you must go with them, with him, if that is what you want to do”, He sighed as he brushed her hair behind her ear affectionately, “And I shall miss you terribly, my dear. Every day. But, at least I will know where you are, and who you are with, which is something I haven’t been able to say since the day you learnt to walk”

“What about Godric?”

“Ah, do not worry. I have gotten myself into much worse situations, I married your mother remember?”

“I shall come back” She said, tears spilling uncontrollably from her eyes, “I will come back, I promise”

“As long as it only to introduce me to the grandchildren you will give me”

 

Elena stumbled through the woods, her face still wet with tears, trying to remember which way Ivar had taken her. She heard the men before she saw them and followed the voices. She started to see them as the trees became sparser, they were walking past in groups, and she realised they were leaving. She hurried her step, bracing herself through the pain of her back as she staggered across the unsteady ground. She practically fell out of the trees into the open pathway where the men were walking. She stood at the edge, watching them until she spotted his chariot. She saw Hvitserk tap his arm and nod to her as he walked, she saw Ivar as he looked towards her, watching as he stared at her, coming slowly closer until he stopped front of her, she looked up at him as he frowned down at her,

“What are you doing here?” He grunted. She shrugged wordlessly, and continued to stare at him, he tried to keep his scowl, but she saw the shift in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitch into a smirk. 

“How are you going to walk?” She turned her face and saw Ivar’s brother Sigurd looking her up and down distastefully

“By putting one foot in front of the other I presume, Sigurd”, Ivar snapped sarcastically, “She still has legs”

“It is a days walk to the settlement, three until we reach the boats” He retorted, “Do you really think she can make it that far? She can barely stand straight”

Elena felt a surge of dread as she listened to Sigurd speak, she hadn’t realised how long she would be walking for, she was already feeling exhausted walking the small distance back from the cabin. Ivar watched Elena’s face change, he saw the look of worry as she listened to his brother and instinctively reached his hand out. She looked at him apprehensively, wondering what he was doing. He gestured impatiently at her, grunting under his breath, and she stared at his hand warily before slowly placing hers in his. He pulled her gently round the chariot, then leaned down awkwardly so he could grip her under her arms. He lifted her onto the carriage beside him, “I do not understand how such a small woman can weigh the same as a horse”, he mumbled as he pushed her to the front. Ivar waited a moment to give Sigurd a smug grin before flicking the reins in his hands and hurling towards the men that had already left. Elena had to grip the rim of the chariot to stop herself falling backwards, and she hissed, stinging tears forming in her eyes as the movement pulled the bandages away from her flesh. Ivar slowed to a steady pace as they caught up, and Elena breathed in relief.

“Are you sure this is able to hold two?”, she asked hesitantly, looking down at the small space she stood in, then back to Ivar as he scowled at her,

“Do you think I am fool enough to let you on if it wasn’t?” He snapped

Elena pulled a childish face at him and turned back round, watching in awe at the Vikings around her, and the trees as they disappeared and opened up into vast lands of green hills she had never seen before.

“But if you don’t move your stupid head out of the way so I can see where I am going then I will not hesitate to throw you from it”

Elena couldn’t help but smile as she carefully dropped to her knees, leaning her elbows over the edge with a sense of peace she hadn’t felt before. They travelled until it became dark, mostly in silence, looking to one another awkwardly, neither knowing what to say to the other, the situation they found themselves in completely new territory for the both of them. She heard Bjorn call across the men to make camp, and slowly she got to her feet, her knees aching from the pressure she had placed on them. Ivar watched her soundlessly, his fingers itching to touch her. She turned and saw the way he was looking at her, knowing what he was thinking and she smiled softly to herself before closing the small gap between them and pushing herself in between his legs. Her lips danced teasingly above his and she could feel his breaths quickening as his fingers circled her hipbone, when suddenly he pulled away and clambered down from the chariot. Elena watched in confusion as he crawled into the sparse group of trees ahead of them, “Do you plan on standing there with that stupid look on your face all night, or are you going to follow me?” 

Elena stepped from the chariot as quickly as her back would allow and traipsed after him, squinting her eyes through the darkness. She almost tripped over his feet as she tried to keep up with him, not realising he had stopped. He lay with his back leaning against a tree, she could barely make out his expression in the blackness of the woods but she could see his eyes glinting,

“Come to me”, he murmured, and she placed her legs on either side of him and crouched down, his hand grabbed her arse and she recoiled away involuntarily as pain scorched across her backside. Ivar caught her by the waist to stop her from falling onto her side.

“I’m sorry” Elena hissed, but Ivar pushed his fingers against her lips to hush her, “It is ok”, he mused, “It is ok, it does not matter”

She sat on her knees, her rear hovering above her heels to avoid contact as she looked at Ivar, a rare soft expression on his face as he traced his finger along her jawline, “We will just sleep. It is fine. Lie with me”, He pulled the sheepskin from around his shoulders and placed it on the ground underneath the tree, shifting his body on top and gesturing for Elena to do the same. She dropped carefully to her stomach, and lay with her head facing Ivar.

“What are you doing?”, He asked, frowning at her

She raised an eyebrow and lifted her head, “Lying with you?”

“Come here”, he grunted impatiently, pulling her so she lay on her front across his chest, “Now go to sleep”

Elena smiled contentedly as she breathed in his scent, “If you do not stop telling me what to do I will—“

“You will what, Saxon?”

“I will, do something…really bad to you”

“Mm, I can’t wait” He murmured sleepily as he intertwined his fingers in her hair. His eyes closed and Elena watched as he fell asleep, smirking to herself as she looked at the smile still stuck on his features.


	11. Chapter 11

Elena woke with a shiver, lifting her head tiredly she opened her eyes. It was not yet light, and it was freezing. She tried to pull the corners of the sheepskin they lay on over her shoulders, but only succeeded in colliding her fist with her jaw and she huffed loudly in frustration. Resting her chin on Ivar’s chest, she stared at his face through the darkness and lifted a hand, faintly dragging a nail across his jawline and down his nose, tracing the features of his face. 

She carefully shuffled herself on top of him and lay with her head over his collarbone. She felt him stir as he shifted himself under her weight, then placed a hand on the back of her head holding her there. Her eyelids were turning heavy and she was almost on the verge of falling back to sleep when she felt it. The hardness that was pressing against her abdomen, and her eyes opened eagerly, the feeling of warmth spreading across her stomach and further down, making goose bumps rise across her skin. She looked to Ivar, still snoring lightly, his eyes firmly closed. She chewed on her lower lip, swaying her hips across his groin undecidedly before slowly crawling down his body. She looked around, it was still too dark to see anyone, meaning it would also be too dark for anyone to see her, and she carefully began to pull on the ties of his breeches. She could see his bulge straining under the linen and began pulling the material down, revealing the dark, coarse hairs leading to his pelvis, one last tug and his cock sprang out. She watched him stir, his hips shifting across the ground as she let her fingertips trace down the exposed part of his stomach and around his shaft.

“What are you doing?” He mumbled sleepily, craning his neck as he looked down at her, instinctively covering his erection with his hand.

Elena pushed him away and ran a finger up his length, circling his head then wrapping her hand around the base, feeling it twitch at her touch and she leaned forward, pressing her lips against his tip. She heard his quiet intake of breath and kissed him again before parting her lips and taking him into her mouth. Ivar groaned helplessly, his hips bucking underneath her as her head sank further and further down, his eyes fluttering as her tongue pressed along his shaft with each suck. He watched her gaze flit from his prick and back to him, he could see she was doubting herself, he could read her face as easy he could read the runes on a stone. He wanted to say something, to tell her how good it felt, but he was never skilled with words. So he smiled at her as he panted heavily, tangling his fingers into her unruly hair and squeezing the back of her neck. 

Elena moved her hand up his shaft following every movement of her mouth whilst keeping her tongue swirling around the velvet like skin. Ivar jerked his pelvis up forcefully, letting out a strangled moan as he felt himself coming undone. Elena gagged as his prick hit the back of her throat and pulled away breathlessly, his tip popping from her mouth. She barely had time to catch her breath when Ivar was gripping under her arms and pulling her up to him. His hands groped her ass roughly as he tried to push her onto his cock and she hissed in pain as his nails dug into the deep lacerations on her flesh, but Ivar barely seemed to notice. He growled under his breath as he struggled to find her sex under the thick material of her dress,

“Wait”, she breathed, still wincing in pain as she tried to pry his fingers away from her backside, but he wasn’t listening, “Ivar wait”, she said louder

“What?” He snapped, glaring up at her, barely able to control his almost frenzied need for her

“You’re hurting me”, she whispered, moving his hand softly away before pushing her own underneath the folds of her dress, wrapping her fingers around his hardness and lowering herself onto it. They both gasped as he entered her, pausing momentarily before Elena began to grind on top of him. She pressed her hand against the tree behind him as she moved up and down, feeling the knot in her stomach growing tighter and tighter. Her eyes closed as she moaned, no longer caring if she was heard or not as she came.   
Ivar gazed in awe at her as she came, watching her scrunched up eyes and open mouth, the way his name sounded low from the back of her throat, how her fingers clawed helplessly at the exposed skin at the crook of his neck. And when his hips jerked and his seed spilled into her, he grabbed her with two hands by her hair and pulled her down into his face, kissing her fervently as he groaned into her mouth. She pulled away and smiled at him before letting her head fall lazily onto his shoulder. He lay silent, wondering if this overpowering want for her that he had would ever end as he listened to her quick pants turn into the quiet sounds of her sleeping. 

 

It was light when they were kicked awake by Ubbe, stood above them smiling wickedly, “It is time to move”, he said, giving Ivar one last gentle kick to the ribs before turning away, “It is also time for you to put your cock back in your pants, brother”, he called back, laughing loudly as Ivar jumped, flustering as he fumbled with his breeches. He scowled at Elena as she laughed at the redness growing in his cheeks, “Keep laughing, Saxon and I will make you walk today”, he grumbled before crawling back towards the chariot. Elena followed after him, her grin still plastered to her face as she clambered awkwardly onto the carriage, struggling to pull herself up while Ivar waited impatiently behind her.

They had been travelling for hours, the wind was bitterly cold and Ivar’s mood had been growing darker with every mile. Elena looked over her shoulder at him, she could see the pained expression of his face, the way his hand clenched and unclenched over his knee and wondered if it was his legs.

“Are you in pain?”, she asked quietly, turning her body round and reaching a tentative hand out to touch him, but he only pushed her away irritably. Elena sighed as she kneeled in front of him, “Is it your legs?”, she watched as he glared at her. His legs were a matter she still knew little of, one he always refused to speak of, and one she had begun to avoid mentioning, knowing the mood it would put him in. She placed her hand on the back of his calf, her thumb circling his meagre flesh tenderly.

“Get off me”, he hissed through gritted teeth, his fingers gripping her wrist and shoving her away roughly.

“What is wrong with you?”, she snapped, but he only ignored her, flicking angrily on the reins and avoiding looking at her. She turned back round sharply, folding her arms over the rim of the carriage as they travelled the rest of the way in silence. 

Elena’s eyes widened as they arrived at the settlement, it was exactly how her Mother had described her homeland, from the wooden huts to the smell that wafted under her nose. She turned to look at Ivar, opening her mouth to say something when she was interrupted by Hvitserk calling his name across the encampment. They both turned their heads and saw his brothers and a group of men Elena didn’t recognise walking towards them. They crowded round Ivar’s chariot, their eyes flitting from Elena and back awkwardly, she made to walk away, knowing that whatever it was they wanted to say they didn’t want to say in front of her. But Ivar’s arm stretched out in front of her, blocking her way off the chariot. Elena looked to him questioningly, but he only nodded at her, his ill mood still obvious in his face, so she stepped back, leaning against the front of the carriage trying her best to look as invisible as possible, looking anywhere but at the group of men around her. 

“Tell them what you have told me” Bjorn said, looking to the heavily bearded man beside him.

“We have heard rumours” He started, looking to each of the Ragnarssons, “Rumours of a Saxon army forming to the East”

Ivar looked to the man and gestured to him with an open palm impatiently, “To the East?”

“In Elmham” He nodded

“The boats” Bjorn affirmed

The man nodded again, “It is said they plan to attack when you arrive. Men have said it is a large army. At least twice what we have”

“And who is forming this army?”

“The Earl of Norfolk”

“Norfolk?” Elena gasped and spoke out loud involuntarily, her cheeks flushing red as the men all turned to look at her

“You know this Earl?” Ivar asked

She shook her head quickly, looking to her feet nervously, “No, but—“, she looked up again, “—He is the brother… Of Godric”

She saw the Ragnarssons look to Ivar accusingly, but Ivar didn’t seem to notice as he continued to stare at Elena, 

“How would he know of what happened already?”

“They have had almost a full day in front of us to send word to Norfolk”

“Well then” Ivar smirked, looking to his brothers, “It appears we are to fight”

“They have an army” Sigurd said, narrowing his eyes at Ivar

“As do we now we are here”

“We have half the number they have”

“One Viking is worth a thousand Saxons” Ivar snapped, scowling at Sigurd. Elena watched as he glared nastily at her before storming away from the chariot. Bjorn looked to Ivar and Elena, his expression unreadable as it always was, “Then we will stay here, get as many men as we can, and leave for Elmham in the morning”

The moment the men had moved away, Ivar was growling in pain again and Elena had to bite her lip to stop herself from speaking. They were pointed briefly to a hut that sat in the middle of the village by a young servant, and Elena smiled in acknowledgement, waiting for her to walk away before crouching hesitantly in front of Ivar. “Ivar, are you ok?” She asked reluctantly, touching his arm lightly, only for him to shrug away from her hand, “I am fine”, he growled.

She watched his jaw clench with each grunt of pain, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was clenching his hands, “Can I do anything to help?” she asked quietly. As she had expected he did nothing but scowl at her. She placed her palms over his own tight fists, “Ivar?

“Maybe you can ask the Gods to grant me new ones”, he snapped, pushing her hands away

“Isn’t there anything that helps to ease the pain?”, she asked, 

“Do you think if there was that I would be still be sat here?” He growled loudly in pain again, digging his nails into his thighs, “Leave me alone, woman”

“I want to hel—“

“—You can’t help!” He roared, trying to shove her away, but she grabbed his wrists trying to stop him from pushing her again and he pulled away angrily, striking her across the face with the back of his hand as he tried to get her away from him. Her head snapped sideways violently as she fell onto her side, her elbow crashed into the floor as she tried to stop herself from falling. She stopped, touching her cheek where he had hit her, feeling the hot skin as she looked at him in disbelief. She saw a brief look of shock and remorse in his eyes before she was climbing back to her feet furiously. She stood in front of him and slapped him with as much strength as she could muster, then she slapped him again, so hard she saw the colour of his cheek turn instantly into an angry red.

“Don’t _ever_ touch me like that again”, she hissed. They glared at each other, neither wanting to be the one to back down first, before Elena finally gave in, pushing herself off the chariot and storming towards the vacant hut they had been given for the night.

 

Elena didn’t know how long she had been sleeping, if it was just for a short time or longer. But when she awoke to the pressure of someone crawling into the bed beside her it was pitch black, and the only thing she could see was the faint gleam of moonlight that shone through the cracks in the crudely built door. She felt an arm snake tightly around her waist, she didn’t have to turn her head to see who it was, she could tell by his smell and the sound of his breathing. She pushed his hand off her and shifted further across the bed away from him. She heard him murmur her name and scrunched her eyes shut tightly, trying to force herself to go back to sleep. Ivar pushed himself onto his elbow and leaned over her, pulling her hair away from her face, only for her to bat his hands away and he sighed in frustration, pushing his tongue into his cheek. 

“I’m sorry”, he mumbled quietly, fumbling with the material of her dress, but she only shrugged. He tried again, sliding his hand down her arm, trying to grab her hand. He felt her freeze under his touch, but she didn’t push him away, so he laced his fingers into hers and kissed her shoulder lightly, feeling her stop fighting against him and relax. She rolled over to face him before she could tell herself not to, and he pressed his nose against hers, his hands moving to the back of her head, pushing her further into him, “I’m sorry”, he murmured again, “My anger it….”, he exhaled through his nose in frustration, his lips tightening, not able to form a coherent sentence in his mind. Elena nodded wordlessly, letting him press his lips against her own, not wanting to reciprocate but unable to help herself. Ivar pushed himself on top of her, breathing heavily into her face. There was so much he wanted to say to her, thousands of things he wanted to tell her, but he could never form the right words. It was always easier for him to speak in anger than in love and he stopped before he could open his mouth. 

“It is ok”, Elena whispered, as though reading his mind, “You don’t have to say anything”. She placed her hands on either side of his face and bought his mouth back down to hers quickly. The ghost of a smile appeared on Ivar’s lips, and he nodded sheepishly, feeling the tension leaving his shoulders as he collapsed on top of her, burying his face into her neck, falling asleep almost instantly and leaving Elena alone to think of what would happen once they reached Elmham.


	12. Chapter 12

They were near. Elena had heard the men talk of seeing Saxon banners less than three miles away, and the camp they had set up was rife with movement. She watched men sharpening their axes and sparring with one another, whilst others drank ale and ate cold meat as though they had no worries at all. She hadn’t seen Ivar since he had told her to stay with the handful of non-fighting women and children the night before, nor had she ever seen him so aroused. He had left her, his eyes alight with excitement and fever at the prospect of battle, he had almost ripped her clothes off in the middle of camp, unable to keep his hands at rest. 

Elena looked around the encampment for him, but could see him nowhere and she ducked back inside the large tent the women had been preparing. It was full of makeshift beds, ointments, bandages and hot irons, ready for any wounded that came back. The sight of it made Elena’s stomach tense in fear. Fear for what would happen if they lost, and fear for Ivar. She didn’t doubt his capability in battle, she had seen him spar with his brothers, and had seen him handle himself more than once. He was as good as any standing man, if not better. But when she looked at the inside of the tent she couldn’t help but chew her lip in worry. 

“You are afraid?”

Elena jumped at the voice behind her, and turned to see a slender, fair-haired woman holding a small baby in her arms, staring at her curiously. She wanted to defend herself, deny any idea of her feeling scared. She had been watching the people in the camp and no one, not even the women, showed any signs of fear. Anticipation, maybe. But not fear. She shook her head and tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out. The woman nodded at her, and placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

“You should not be frightened, our men are strong” She assured her, “They do not fear death, they welcome it as though it is an old friend. If he dies in battle you should feel glad that he will live on in Valhalla”

Elena watched as the woman walked away, feeling even more anxious than she had before. Words of reassurance were something different to Vikings, she had come to realise. Someone handed her a large bundle of cloth and she began unskilfully cutting it into crude strips for poultices, doing anything to keep her mind busy.

“Elena?”

She looked to the entrance and saw a familiar man looking at her, she recognised him from the feasts at her Fathers castle, he had been one of the Ragnarssons men and she nodded softly as he gestured for her to follow him. “Ivar wishes to see you”, he mumbled, as they weaved in between the hundreds of men preparing for the battle. She saw him, sat astride his chariot, his smile broad and genuine as he laughed with the men around him. She saw his grin get wider as he noticed her, and stretched his arm out to her. She ran eagerly towards him, letting him pull her up with one arm around her waist, she kissed him breathlessly, not caring about the men around them as he began to kiss her back with just as much fervour.

“We are leaving now”, he mumbled into her lips when they finally separated,

Elena looked into his eyes, the spark that was there this morning had only grown brighter and the vitality he was giving off was almost palpable. 

“Stay with the women, they will know what to do if anything should go wrong”

Elena bit her lip and looked down at their feet. Much had happened to her in such a short space of time, she didn’t think she would be able to bare it if she should lose Ivar. She felt his finger under her chin, lifting her face up to look at him, “It will not go wrong”, he smiled, “Odin is with us, yes?”

She nodded, the joyful expression on his face so rare that she couldn’t help but smile back. He placed both hands on her face, pulling her forward so their foreheads were touching. Elena could do nothing, he had never acted so tenderly to her before, especially where people could see, “I will see you when it is over”, he moved his lips to her ear, murmuring quietly as one of his hands trailed down her chest and pulled on her bodice, “I will see you without this covering your flesh, I will see you as you are and leave my marks across your skin again”

Elena’s breath quickened as his fingers traced down her body, lingering teasingly in between her legs, “I will wait for you”, she said, wishing he would take her right there. He nodded and pressed his lips to her neck, sucking and biting on her until she felt her cheeks burning red, knowing she was being watched. He pulled away, his eyes burning with desire, making her feel even more powerless than she already did. He grabbed her hand and guided her off the chariot, giving her one last fleeting glance before flicking his reins and pushing forward. Elena had to step back as the army of Vikings moved onward. She wanted to be brave like the other women were, but she wasn’t like the other women, and the lump in her throat made her feel as though she was suffocating. She watched as he disappeared, and the tears began to fall freely down her face. She moved her hand to touch the still stinging mark he had made on her neck, and stood motionless until long after the warriors had faded from view, waiting until she had managed to gain a faint air of composure before returning to the camp. 

 

 

It was almost dark, and there was still no signs of the returning army. Messengers came back and forth, informing the women and men who had stayed behind of any news from the battle, but the last messenger had left over four hours ago and they hadn’t seen him since. Elena sat outside the tent Ivar had claimed as theirs, playing absentmindedly with some of the children who were fascinated by her and her stories from living in a Saxon castle. She looked around the camp for any signs off anybody that they should be worried, but it seemed to her as though Vikings had no fear, and that she was alone in her uneasiness.

A loud horn sounded through the encampment and Elena jumped up just as a boy no older than herself ran into the clearing, his pale skin barely visible under the splashes of blood across his face. She waited tentatively for him to speak, but he only spoke quietly to the woman who greeted him, and Elena had to wait restlessly for her to acknowledge the rest of the camp.

“Odin was with them on the battlefield, we are victorious, thank the Gods” She nodded, but Elena’s shoulders were still tense, she wouldn’t feel at ease until she saw his face.  
Cheers sounded through the clearing, and every face in the camp turned to watch as the warriors poured through the trees, blood soaked and high on the ecstasy of battle. She stood on her tiptoes, arms folded across her chest as she searched for him. She saw men with open wounds across their faces and chests, some missing an ear or a hand being carried by laughing friends. Then she saw him, laughing wildly with the men around him, the white of his teeth shining bright in comparison to his blood-stained face. The first thing she felt was relief knowing he was alive, but more over-powering than that was the growing warmth in between her legs as she watched him get closer. Seeing him, fresh from battle, dirt and the blood of men he had slaughtered still wet on his skin made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. 

She watched him as he noticed her, his eyes glinting menacingly as the corners of his lips turned up into a dangerous smirk. He pulled up only metres away from her, gesturing for someone to tend to his horse, not moving his eyes from Elena’s as she made her way towards him. She climbed onto the chariot, wincing as the effort pulled at the lacerations on her back, but there was no time to think of that as he twisted on his seat and pulled her into him, kissing her so fervently she could taste the blood on his tongue as it trickled from his lip, only serving to make the heat in between her legs grow.

She pulled away to catch her breath and heard him growl into her mouth as he tried to bite her lip and bring her back to him. His hands went up to her bodice and pulled the material down roughly, exposing her breasts. Elena gasped and instinctively tried to cover herself as men still walked by, but Ivar only knocked her hands away and bit down on her nipple hungrily. His tongue swirled over her areola, leaving red stains across her pale skin from the blood on his face as he moved his attention to her other breast. Elena’s head fell back as Ivar’s teeth dug into her flesh, and she buried her hands into his hair, still wet with sweat and blood. His fingers kneaded her breasts, covering her with red trails wherever he touched. Elena began to fumble with his breeches, searching desperately for the ties, but he grabbed her by the hair pulling her face into his and pressing his nose against hers.

“Get inside and take that off”

Elena nodded, but couldn’t help but to place her mouth over his again, her hands pulling eagerly on the neckline of his tunic.

“If you do not get inside I will rip that dress from your back and take you right here”, he growled into her lips as his hands moved round to her back and began pulling the laces away, she could feel her dress getting looser, the sleeves beginning to fall around her shoulders, “Do you want me to do that?”

Elena shivered, goose bumps rising across her skin at the thought of letting Ivar take her where everyone could see. Ivar chuckled lowly, his teeth nipping at her breast, “Would you like me to? Would you like me to show everyone what I do to you? Shall we let them see what it is that makes you scream?”

He pulled on the last of the laces and Elena had to hold the material up to stop it falling, but she held it loosely, her hands itching to let it fall. She could see Ivar wanted her to, his breathing had turned into shallow pants and his fingers tugged lightly on the skirt, encouraging her to let go. Just then, a half-eaten apple flew in between them and they both jerked their heads in the direction it had come from. Ubbe stood a few metres away, a grin on his face and a shield-maiden on his arm, “Take it inside”, he yelled across the clearing, “I am in no mood to see your tiny cock again, brother”

Elena’s face flushed a bright red, wondering if he had heard Ivar’s words and her reaction to them. Ivar scowled at his brother but turned to Elena, his face still feverish with lust, “Get inside”, he growled, smacking the side of her leg as he pushed himself off the seat he sat on. Elena climbed from the chariot struggling to keep her dress up and avoid putting pressure on her wounds at the same time. She reached the tent before Ivar, but he was at her heels when she walked through the entrance, and had tugged the dress from her hands and down to her ankles before the flap of material making the entrance had concealed them. Elena caught a fleeting glance of Ubbe watching her, a curious expression on his face before it closed behind them. 

It was only when she was alone with Ivar that she realised she hadn’t been naked in front of him since the morning after she had left the castle, and she suddenly felt a wave of self-consciousness. Maybe he wouldn’t find her so attractive now she was left with gruesome scars across the back of her body. She folded her arms across her chest and turned her back away from him, grateful that she still had bandages covering the marks. Ivar had pulled himself on to the bed, his breeches already untied, his hand moving up and down his shaft as he watched her.

“What are you doing, stupid girl. Come here before I drag you here”

Elena stepped forward cautiously, the moment she was in arms reach of her he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, his other hand immediately sliding in between her legs.

“You are already ready for me”, he murmured, smirking at her as he felt her wetness.

She looked at his face, the dirt and blood that stained it only making her want him more and she climbed on top of him, gasping as she easily took all of him inside her. She tried, with help from Ivar, to pull off the leather from over his tunic, she noticed a dark patch of blood on the grey of his tunic near his collarbone, but wasn’t given the time to ponder what it was before Ivar threw her onto her back, making her yelp in pain as the movement made the poultices shift across her wounds.

“You are still in pain?” Ivar panted as he hovered above her, looking as though it wouldn’t matter what her answer would be, but she didn’t have time to reply before he was ordering her to lie on her front, his hands trying to turn her over physically. Elena tensed at the thought of him seeing her back, even if it was covered by bandages, so she shook her head quickly, “It is fine”, she breathed, “I am fine”, she dug her fingers into his exposed rear, pushing him against her and Ivar responded by shoving himself inside her forcefully. The adrenalin from battle still buzzing through his veins, he thrusted in and out with an animalistic fury, his eyes rolled back as he saw his bloody hand prints on the white of her skin and the purple mark he had made on her before he had left. He came quick and hard, his fingers digging painfully into her hips as she cried out, half in pain from the pressure that was being put on her back and rear, and half from pure gratification. He fell on top of her, panting into the crook of her neck, his lips pressing lazily against her skin. 

They lay in silence until they were enveloped in darkness, with only two candles by the bed to give them any light. Ivar pushed himself onto his elbows above her as he looked down at her, it was then that Elena realised he was still wearing his clothes and she grabbed the hem of his tunic, only to notice the dark patch near his collarbone again, she frowned as she pulled it over his head quickly, gasping as she saw what was underneath.

“Ivar”, she blurted, “You’re hurt”

“It is nothing”, he mumbled, leaning down to kiss her again, but Elena turned her head and sat herself up. Ivar growled in frustration and let his head fall into her lap in exasperation, she narrowed her eyes and scrambled to her knees, crawling around him. She grabbed the candle and held it above him as she pushed him onto his back, holding it above his chest, “What happened?”, she asked, touching the wound lightly. Ivar shrugged and pulled her effortlessly on top of him. She could feel him stiffening underneath her again as he smirked at her, but she ignored him as she stared at the wound in his chest, angry and swollen, “Ivar you need tending to”

“So tend to me”, He said, jerking his hips up teasingly

Elena rolled her eyes before climbing off him and grabbing her dress from the floor, throwing it carelessly over her head

“What are you doing?”, he moaned, his hand stroking his length again, “Come to me, let me taste you again”

“Only when I know that you’re not going to die while you are down there”, she called as she walked out of the tent and towards the healers.

Ivar lay on the bed, growling to himself irritably. He heard the sound of his brother calling his name before he ducked through the entrance, he watched as Ubbe strolled inside, a jug and two chalices in hand. Ivar pulled the sheepskin over his modesty and sat himself up, scowling at his brother, “What?”, he snapped

“I have bought you ale”, Ubbe smirked, placing the jug on the table beside the bed and staring down at Ivar, “Where is Elena?”, he asked, his eyes shifting awkwardly around the room,

Ivar shrugged, “To fetch a healer I presume”

Ubbe looked at the wound of his younger brother’s chest and chuckled lightly, “Ah, that is no more than a scratch”

Ivar smirked at his brother, “She does not listen to anybody but herself”

“She is a rare woman that is clear”

Elena walked into the tent, her arms full of things she had collected from the healers tent. Water splashed from a bowl across the ground as a bundle of cloth fell with it, unravelling at her feet. Ubbe was kneeling down beside her instantly, helping her to carry it towards the bed, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment too long as she thanked him and Ivar narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his brother before he left them alone.

“I thought you were bringing a healer”, Ivar frowned at her as she crouched on the floor in front of him. Elena shrugged, “They were busy tending to other men”, she shrugged and held a small bone needle and some crudely cut thread up to him, “I thought I… Well, how… How hard can it be?”

Ivar shifted himself towards her, hanging his legs over the edge as he watched her dip the small piece of cloth into what he hoped was clean water, “ _You_ , are going to do it?”

“Yes”, she said confidently, gingerly wiping the dried blood away from across the wound as Ivar watched her judgementally, “Do you not trust me?”

“You have the hands of an oaf and all the grace of a blind donkey, of course I do not trust you”

Elena stuck her tongue out as she threaded the needle by candlelight, thinking how much more she was going to enjoy hurting him. She leaned forward, her hands now trembling as she pierced the skin, looking to Ivar for his reaction, but he only smirked at her, his eyebrows raised as she clumsily stitched the small gash across his left collarbone, making more of a mess of his skin than the wound itself did. 

“What happened with the Earl?” Elena asked quietly as she focused on where she was putting the needle, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth in concentration. Ivar shrugged, letting his right hand dip under the bodice of her dress, groping at her breast, “It was an army of sheep farmers and carpenters”, he said, pinching her nipple in between his thumb and forefinger. She tried to shrug him away but he only tightened his grip and she dug the needle hard into his flesh, making him hiss in pain but his smirk widen, “Bjorn killed the Earl himself, and the rest of his men ran like the cow hearted Christians they are” 

“He is dead?” Elena realised with a start what that meant

“What is it?” Ivar asked, seeing her expression change, his fingers still pinching and pulling on her breast

“He had no wife or sons”, She muttered, dragging the thread through his skin, pulling the wound together, “It makes Godric the Earl of Norfolk now as well”

Ivar stared at her for a moment, pondering what to say next, but he only shrugged, “It matters not”, he waited for her to tie the thread at the end before pulling her up to straddle his waist, “We leave for Kattegat tomorrow. These problems are for another day”


	13. Chapter 13

He had told her to stay put. To stay with the non-fighting women and children where she would be safe. Hidden. And she had intended on doing so. She hadn’t planned on doing what she did. She couldn’t fight. She could barely lift a shield, and she was happy to stay away. But the waiting was hard, understanding that there was a possibility Ivar wouldn’t come back was hard. 

The Saxons had taken them by surprise. The Vikings had thought the battle was over, that they had won. But they were ambushed before they had even reached the boats.  
Ivar had managed a few hurried whispers into her ear before pushing her into the arms of a stranger. She was dragged away, watching Ivar as he charged towards the Saxon banners that waited on top of the hill. The Vikings were at a disadvantage, even Elena could see that. 

And then she waited for him to come back to her once more. She had tried to stay with the others, but it had become too hard to stand still, so she began to wander through the trees, aimlessly at first, but it wasn’t long before she could hear the undeniable and terrifying sounds of battle. 

Her heart began to thud loudly in her chest, out of both fear and excitement, she had never been so close to something like that before, she was always kept out of the way, always kept safe as though she was a child. Curiosity got the better of her and she began to walk towards the fight. She could hear men screaming. She could hear their screams of pain, and their screams of fury and still she kept walking. The noise became deafening, the trees became sparser, and she could see a flurry of movement just beyond them.  
She scurried forward, pressing herself behind the furthermost tree as she watched the terrifying clash of Vikings versus Saxons. Her breathing became shallow and fast till she was almost panting, and goose bumps rose across her flesh as she watched the swinging of swords and throwing of axes and spears. She had heard all the stories that her Fathers guards would tell of battle, but nothing could prepare someone for how terribly gruesome and horrifying it truly was.

She found herself scanning the field and the blurred faces of men, searching desperately for his chariot, but she couldn't see him. And so, she began to walk sideways through the trees, trying to keep herself concealed behind them as she continued to scour the chaos for Ivar. 

She gasped as she saw a man decapitated, his head flying across the hoard of soldiers. Then she saw him. He was far back across the terrain, but there was no mistaking him. He charged through the field of men, swinging his axe with a controlled savagery, never missing his target, and as he got closer she could see his face, wild with rage. She watched him, hypnotised, he was so close now she could hear his frenzied war cries, and hysterical laughter. She smiled as men ran from him and laughed at the fear on their faces. 

Then he fell. 

A Saxon had charged at him, slashing his horse across the throat and his chariot fell sideways as Ivar crashed to the ground. Ivar managed to pull his axe from underneath him before the Saxon could reach him and he slashed across his legs, and then through his skull as he collapsed besides him. Elena gasped and before she knew it she was running from the trees towards him. She wasn’t thinking, she just needed to get to him. 

There seemed to be more dead bodies to get through then there was fighting men, and it didn’t take much for her to reach him, throwing herself on top of him carelessly. Instinctively, Ivar swung his sword back, only managing to stop himself centimetres away from Elena’s neck.

“What are you doing here, you stupid woman!” He roared, as she placed her hands on either side of his face, “Are you hurt?” she sobbed, ignoring his words. He growled loudly and grabbed her by the waist, pushing her roughly against the fallen chariot, shielding her with his body. Elena watched as a Saxon came towards them, his sword suspended in the air as he charged. Ivar would surely not stand a chance now he was without his chariot, 

“No!” she cried, and again Elena was darting forward, recklessly placing herself in between the two men. She heard Ivar’s scream, and saw the Saxon swing his sword at the same time Ivar’s axe collided with his forehead. Elena watched as his skull split open in front of her and he fell gracelessly to the ground. 

She didn’t understand why it felt as though she was falling to the ground with him, why she was suddenly so dizzy and in so much pain. The colour began to fade from the spinning blood-soaked fields around her until everything turned black. 

Ivar was crawling furiously towards her before she had even fallen, screaming her name over and over. Blood poured from across her chest, so much so he couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. It seemed to flow from every part of her. He grabbed her under the shoulder and tried desperately to heave her motionless body away, but it was no use. He couldn’t move her fast enough and he couldn’t drag her away without hurting her more. 

He yelled loudly, “Ubbe!” he knew he had seen him close by when he had fallen, “Ubbe!”, his brother was running towards him, “I can’t carry her!” He roared, hot, angry tears streaming down his dirt ridden face, “I can’t carry her!”.

Ubbe swooped Elena into his arms, where she hung like lifelessly. He ran through the woods, away from the battle and towards the healer and the poor, quickly built tent for the wounded. Ivar crawled after them, forgetting all about the ongoing battle.

Ubbe pushed himself inside, not caring who was there, he was Ubbe Ragnarsson, it did not matter, “Move”, he said to the bleeding man who lay on one of only two beds. The man did as he was told without question, and Ubbe lay Elena in his place, her once pale dress now dark with blood. Ubbe didn’t know where she was injured, but he knew that he had seen men die with less blood on their clothes. He turned as Ivar crawled inside and pulled himself to lean against the bed, his hands stroking Elena’s blood matted hair away from her face, “Where is the healer?” He yelled out, not bothering to turn his head to look.

“I will come in a moment” The woman called as she tended to another,

“You will come now!” He screamed, and the healer, hearing Ivar’s voice, rushed over at once. She looked at Elena and immediately began to cut her bloody dress away from her skin. The wound was revealed and Ivar felt his skin turn cold. There was a deep gash from her right shoulder, across her chest and ending under her left breast, bleeding so much it was turning her white skin and the bed underneath her red. 

“Why aren’t you doing anything?” he roared, glaring viciously at the healer who stood motionless beside him. She looked to Ubbe uncertainly, who returned her gaze and nodded at her. She began to fetch ointments, sutures, bandages and anything else that she believed would all be fruitless in helping the young Saxon girl, but she would not anger Ivar by refusing to try. 

“Wait outside”, she said to Ivar as she pushed her way beside Elena

“I will wait here” He snapped,

“Come” Ubbe said, grabbing Ivar’s shoulders, encouraging him to follow him outside. Reluctantly, he did, glancing back quickly at Elena, unresponsive to the healer’s touch. 

He refused to move away from the tent, and the two brothers sat silently against the material, “She is a strong woman. She will be ok, brother” Ubbe lied

Ivar scoffed loudly, “She is nearly cut in two, Ubbe. She is going to die”

Ubbe stayed silent, twisting a blade of grass between his fingers. He knew it was true, “Why was she on the battlefield?”, he asked hesitantly,

“Because she is a stupid little girl” Ivar spat, “She is brainless, and foolish, and now she has gotten herself killed”

The silence that came from the tent worried Ivar more than it would if he could hear her screams of pain, at least that way he would know that she was alive. He roared loudly, slamming his fists into the ground in anger. Anger at the silence itself, and the stupidity of her actions. And at himself. He grabbed his axe from his belt and through it furiously across the grass, landing near the feet of some other wounded Vikings, who jumped away in shock, looking to Ivar irritably, but he didn’t care, “If I could walk I would have been able to reach her before…”, he stopped talking, biting his lip to stop it trembling foolishly.

“It is not your fault” Ubbe said quietly

“I know” Ivar agreed, “It is her fault. She is a fool. She should have stayed where I told her to. But if I could run, if I could just…stand, I would have been able to save her. I couldn’t even pick her up, I couldn’t carry her, I...”

“You are a strong fighter, Ivar. You—“

“—I know that, Ubbe” He snapped, “I am more than a strong fighter. I have proved that I can defend myself as well as any other man, if not better. But if I cannot protect someone else…”

"That was just today, brother. If the situation had been different…”

“But it wasn’t. And now she is dead” Ivar spat. The rest of the men could be heard cheering through the trees as they made their way back. Victory was theirs, but Ivar was in no mood to celebrate. He shook his head, before crawling away, “There is no point in waiting for her, she is dead anyway. And if the Gods do decide to grant her life then she has no use for me anyway”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your comments. Sorry I haven't replied to most of them, I'm so awkward and never know what to say! But thank you to everyone who has commented, it means so much and keeps me motivated to write more!

She felt a hand touching her own, lifting her fingers up briefly before letting them fall. It was a gesture Ivar had often done when he wished to stir her and her eyes fluttered open at once, searching the colourless room for his face. She saw two blue eyes staring into her own, but they were not Ivar’s. 

“How is she today?” Ubbe asked as he stood over her, scanning her face and the outline of her body under the thin woollen blanket. 

“Better. She has been awake more than she has rested”, Elena heard the woman speak, but her eyes stayed focused on Ubbe, wishing he was someone else.

“When will she be able to go outside? She has been lay in this bed for close to a month now”, he said, his gaze shifting to the woman and back to her,

“It is likely she already can, she is over the worst of the fever”

“And the wound?”

“Healing well”

“I am right here. You do not have to talk about me as though I am not”, she snapped, glaring at Ubbe, “I am not as half-witted as you believe me to be”

“I do not believe you to be half-witted” Ubbe said, “I am simply asking how you are”

“Then ask me, not her” she spat, turning her face away from him.

Ubbe crouched down beside the bed, resting his elbows on his knees, “Well then, how are you Elena?”, he brushed his fingers across her hand and she snatched it away quickly, “Fine”, she muttered.

He stared at her for a moment longer, studying her dour expression and the angry tears looming at the brim of her eyes before sighing loudly and standing up. He had almost made it to the door before Elena called his name and he turned to look at her. 

“Ivar?”, she croaked, “Where is he?”

Elena’s face burned in shame, she had been asking the same question every day since she had woke, and it was always the same answer, she felt like a fool for asking again.   
Ubbe looked at her as he always did, with a mixture of sympathy and something she couldn’t distinguish, “Ivar… Is being Ivar”, he said. 

Elena knew there was something he wasn’t telling her, something no one was telling her. There was a bitterness to his voice when he spoke of his brother, and she didn’t know why. Nor did she know why Ivar hadn’t been to see her. She wondered if something had happened to him, or if it was simply a case of him no longer wanting her. Thousands of thoughts raced through her mind, and no one would talk of him with more than just a few comfortless words. Ubbe was still speaking to her, but she didn’t care to listen to what he was saying. She turned away and closed her eyes, trying to force herself back to sleep.

…………………………………………….

He was there again. Waiting outside the cabin, listening to the incomprehensible murmurings of her voice and watching the flickering of candlelight through the animal pelt covered window. Each night he got closer to crawling inside, and each night his anger at both himself and at Elena stopped him before he could reach her. 

But tonight was different. Everything that had happened just a short while ago was beginning to make him feel like he was on the brink of insanity, powerless to his own irrational temper. And yet, overpowering everything else was his unrelenting need to see her. He had been resolute in the idea that he should leave her, for what use was a man who was unable to protect his woman? But tonight, he thought he was going to lose his mind. He crawled cautiously over to the cabin and slowly pushed open the wooden door. 

Elena’s eyes flew open the moment she heard the creaking of the hinges. She recognised the familiar sound he made as he crawled across the ground, and every muscle inside of her stiffened. She lay frozen, her face turned away from the door, feeling the hairs on her arms stand up as he pulled himself onto the bed by her feet. And then it was silent. She tried to steady her breathing, to disguise the sudden trepidation she felt. 

Ivar watched her form moving under the sheet with each breath she took. Her head was turned to the side, and he couldn’t see her face clearly through the darkness, but he knew she wasn’t sleeping. His hand hovered above the outline of her legs, itching to touch her, but he let it drop to his lap instead.

“Are you awake?”

His voice was no more than a murmur, but it resonated through the stillness of the small room. Elena wanted to ignore him, to pretend she was asleep, but she had already involuntarily turned to face him at the sound of his voice. She stared at him, the blue of his eyes shining even through the blackness, he lifted a hand and tried to touch the stem of the scar that peered at her shoulder from underneath her nightdress, but Elena knocked him away angrily, “Go away”, she spat. She had spent weeks wishing he would come back to her, but now he was there all she wanted was for him to leave.

“I think… I have made a mistake”, he muttered, ignoring her as he continued to speak, “And I am sorry”

Elena glared at him, “Sorry for what?”

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her face, now plain to see as she faced the candlelight. He knew that expression, he knew every look she had to give, and he knew she was ready for a fight. He wanted her to. He wanted her to scream at him, and he wanted to scream at her back, to shake her until she was broken, until there was nothing left of her.

“Sorry for what, Ivar? For leaving me?” She tried to push herself onto her elbows but her shoulder was still too sore to put pressure on and she fell back down to the bed in a huff, growling under her breath, “You are not sorry”

“I was angry—“, he started

“—You are always angry, Ivar. What makes this—“

“—Shut up and let me speak”, he snapped, glowering at her, “If you hadn’t charged into the midst of a battle like the stupid girl you are, then this would never have happened”

“This is my fault now?”

“Of course it is your fault. It is not mine!”

“I thought you were hurt!”

“So you decided to get yourself killed? How intelligent of you, Elena”

“Go away, Ivar”

“I thought you were dead”

“So you washed your hands of me?”, She scoffed loudly and derisively, “I have been very much alive, for weeks now. Where have you been?”

Ivar scowled at her but stayed silent.

“It has been weeks, Ivar. Why didn’t you come to me?” 

“Why?!” she screamed, “Why?!”

“I killed Sigurd!” he roared, his voice breaking as he spoke his brother’s name for the first time since it had happened,

“What?”, Elena whispered, unsure if she had heard him right

"I killed Sigurd”

Elena gaped at Ivar, trying to process what he had just said. She watched as he bowed his head, shielding his face away from her as he fumbled with his hands, “Oh, Ivar”, she breathed, bracing herself through the pain of sitting herself upright as she leaned forward to place a hand on his cheek, trying to lift his face up to look at her, but he wouldn’t shift, “When?”, she asked

“When we were in England”, he muttered, pushing her hand away, “After you- After the battle with the Saxons”

Elena bit her lip, before shifting awkwardly across the bed and lying back down. She waited for him to look up before lifting the layers that covered her, gesturing for him to lay beside her. Ivar looked to her hesitantly before pulling himself towards her. His head fell under the crook of her arm as though there was nothing more natural to him, and he buried his face into her chest as her arm folded as far around his shoulders as she could reach.

“Why?”, she asked, so quiet it was almost a whisper. She felt him tense momentarily underneath her before he relaxed into her again,

“He pushed me. He was always pushing me”, he mumbled, “I just…” He shrugged and fell silent, for so long that Elena thought he had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes and leant her head on his softly until he shifted beside her,

“Some days I am filled with grief, and regret for my brother. And other days… Many days… I am glad that he is dead” He looked up to Elena, his eyebrows raised as he studied her face, watching for her reaction,

Elena looked back down at him, staring into his questioning blue eyes before kissing his forehead. It mattered not to her. In truth, she never cared for Sigurd, and nor did she care that he was dead. 

“It is my anger”, Ivar continued, a thousand words he had never said out loud before were all on the tip of his tongue, and began spilling from his mouth uncontrollably, “My Father told me I should use it intelligently, but I do not know how to. I cannot control it. He thought it was a gift. Sometimes I think it is more like a curse”

“It is your fire, Ivar”, Elena murmured, “Don’t you ever tame it”,

She yawned tiredly as Ivar made circles on the top of her thigh with his thumb, but she refused to sleep. She listened to Ivar as he told her everything, everything she had been wishing to know about him. 

It was dawn before their heavy eyelids finally closed, but it wasn’t long before they were being woke up to blinding sunlight pouring into the cabin. Elena pulled the sheet up to her neck as a gust of cold wind blew around her body and she felt Ivar shift beside her, still curled up at her side. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the sudden light before squinting towards the open door. Ubbe stood in the doorway, staring at the couple in the bed, rolling his eyes as he watched Ivar pull himself onto his elbows.

“What do you want?”, Ivar groaned, grabbing Elena’s hand and pulling it into his lap possessively, making sure Ubbe saw him. Every day he had watched his brother go to Elena, and he had not forgotten. 

“I have come for Elena”, he said, placing the plate of bread and fish by the table at the bed and gestured towards her, “Come. Olga said you should start moving. Let us take a walk”

He held a hand out towards Elena and she took it eagerly, the prospect of leaving the cabin too much for her to turn down. She grimaced in pain as he pulled her upright and tried to climb over Ivar’s legs but he grabbed a handful of her nightdress and pulled her back down, Elena looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I will go with her” he snarled

“You cannot walk, brother” Ubbe retorted, “You and Hvitserk have business with the Jarl today… Unless you no longer care about your plans to return to England”

She pulled the material from Ivar’s tight grip as he glowered at his brother, and cautiously walked across the room to where her dress was lay, looking from them both uncomfortably. She felt relief when Olga, the healing woman walked into the cabin, breaking the tension between the two brothers.

Ubbe made a remark about waiting for her outside before walking out of the door, and she looked to Ivar who was regarding her with a strange look in his eyes. She lifted her arms up as Olga pulled her dress over her head and she stood naked. She watched Ivar as his eyes roamed every inch of her body, her skin tingling and his gaze never faltering.   
As she stepped into the new dress she saw his eyes land on the scar across her chest, in the moment of being exposed in front of Ivar again she had forgotten all about it. She watched as something shifted in his eyes before he looked away quickly, and Elena’s face burned in mortification. She quickly shoved her arms into the sleeves, folding them across her chest self-consciously. The moment the laces on her back were tied she walked hurriedly towards the door, trying to escape the feeling of humiliation, but Ivar grabbed her hand and pulled her into him before letting his hands travel round her hips to her rear, squeezing her ample flesh roughly and digging his teeth into her stomach. He pushed her away, smacking her sharply on the back of her thigh, wanting to remind her of who she belonged to as she walked outside.

She saw Ubbe stood near the swine pen, watching the pigs as they ambled around wildly, and strolled towards him. The sensation of walking in fresh air felt startlingly unfamiliar to her, and nausea rooted itself in her stomach. They walked in silence for a while. Apart from the few times she had stood at the door when Olga wasn’t around to scold her, it was the first time Elena had seen Kattegat properly, and she wanted to savour the moment.

“I see you are happier” Ubbe said suddenly, “Now Ivar has claimed you again”

“He has not claimed me. I am not a possession”, she muttered, and Ubbe nodded, an amused, disbelieving look on his face,

“He has told me about Sigurd”, she stopped and turned to look at him, searching his face for his reaction but he remained expressionless, “I am sorry”

“Thank you”, He muttered, his eyes shifting to Elena and back, “I miss him greatly”

“That is why you have been so cold to Ivar… Why did you not tell me?”

Ubbe arched an eyebrow at the slender girl beside him, “I did not know that I was supposed to”

“Will you ever be able to forgive him?”, she asked quietly as they started walking again, “He believes you hate him now”

“I love my brother. I always will. I could never hate him. But I cannot forgive him”

……………………………………..

Elena held onto the shoulders of the two servant girls on either side of her as she stepped into the bath that had been brought in. She closed her eyes as the cool water began to envelope her body, it had been so long since she had washed properly, the closest she had got in weeks was Olga wiping down her body with a wet and suspicious looking rag.   
The door swung open and crashed into the wall behind it. Elena gasped as Ivar crawled inside, her hands instinctively covering the scar across her chest as he pulled himself up to lean over the rim of the wooden basin, smirking at her menacingly before glaring at the servants, “Go”, he snapped, “She no longer requires your help”

The girls had raced towards the door before Ivar had even finished speaking and Elena turned her face to stare at him dumbfounded, her cheeks burning brightly, “What are you doing?”, she whispered

“I saw them bringing the container to you”, he shrugged, 

“And you thought you would do a better job of bathing me than they?”

“I am no slave. You can wash yourself”, he smirked as he flicked water at her face, “But if you thought I would let you bathe alone you were mistaken. I haven’t had you to myself in many weeks”

“You haven’t _seen_ me in many weeks” she muttered, almost regretting speaking out loud when she saw his eyes flash with irritation, “Well, it is true”, she shrugged.

Ivar exhaled loudly through his nostrils before reaching up to her hands and trying to pull them away, but Elena only tensed, bringing herself further together, “Don’t”, she pleaded,

“What is wrong?”, Ivar frowned, “You have still not forgiven me?”

Elena’s eyes shifted to look anywhere but at Ivar, “I saw the way you looked at me…before”

Ivar’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, 

“At the scar Ivar, I saw you look at it and turn away in disgust”, she whined, “It is repulsive, I know”

“You thought I…?” Ivar chuckled loudly, “And still you do not know me at all woman. Stand-up”

Elena looked at him, one eyebrow raised, 

“Have you lost your hearing? I said stand-up”

Elena mentally cursed herself as she did as she was told without question, keeping her arms wrapped across her chest. Ivar took a moment to stare at her, his eyes lingering in between her legs before turning and climbing onto the small wooden chair that stood behind him, 

“Come here”, he ordered, loosening the ties of his breeches, his eyes glinting with wickedness. She stepped closer to him warily, “Move your arms”, he barked

Elena hesitated, she had looked at the scar every day since she woke, and every day it seemed to get uglier. She was about to turn around and search for something to cover herself with when Ivar’s had shot out suddenly and yanked her arms away. He stared directly at the wound, his gaze following it down from shoulder to breast as though he was memorising every inch of it. Elena gasped as he bent his head abruptly and began trailing his tongue over it from end to end. He reached her shoulder and traced his lips up to her neck, biting down on the tender skin. His fingers dropped down her torso and lingered teasingly above her sex, stroking the hairs that covered it softly as he moved his mouth away and looked at the mark he had made on her flesh in admiration. 

He turned his gaze to her face and smirked when he saw her pink cheeks and heard her irregular breaths. Elena couldn’t wait any longer as his finger stroked everywhere but where she wanted him to, and she moved her own hand in between her legs, slipping inside her folds and circling her clitoris, letting out a quiet gasp at the sensation. It was her turn to smirk smugly when she heard the catch in Ivar’s breath as he realised what she was doing. She bit her bottom lip as her fingers continued to explore herself while Ivar watched open-mouthed in wonderment, his eyes flitting from her sex and back to her face. 

Elena stepped backwards and perched on the rim of the basin, she looked to Ivar before spreading her legs wide and resuming what she had started. She didn’t know if it was the thrill of pleasuring herself, or Ivar’s reaction to it that turned her on more, but her toes curled under themselves as her fingers rubbed and stroked at her bud.

Ivar was captivated. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the woman in front of him, every inch of her skin, her scarred skin, only serving to arouse him more. He fumbled with his breeches clumsily, unable to avert his gaze, and pulled his strained, throbbing prick out. His hand began to stroke up and down his length with a ferocity Elena had only seen a few times before. She smiled at him as she moaned, lifting her leg to rest her foot on the edge of the bath and heard Ivar let out a low, guttural groan. She could see the veins pulsing in his shaft, and his blue eyes beginning to glaze over in pleasure. She slid her fingers down her folds and slipped them inside herself, whimpering loudly. It was a breaking point for Ivar, and the muscles in his stomach tensed as his seed surged from his head, landing in streaks across his tunic and dripping down to the tops of his thighs.   
He barely paused to compose himself before he was climbing down from the chair and crawling in between Elena’s legs, his mouth instantly pressing against her wetness. She removed her hands and held onto the rim tightly as Ivar lapped across her folds hungrily, his thumb pressing circles against her clit. His other hand pushed round to her backside, pulling it away from the tub as he grabbed a handful of the flesh so tightly she could feel his nails digging into her skin. She cried out in pain and pleasure as his grip got tighter and his tongue got fiercer, until he could feel her pressing down into his face as she came while he dragged his nails cruelly across her rear and down her thigh. 

They sat silent and breathless, Elena on the edge of the basin and Ivar with his head rested against the inside of her thigh. He wanted her to do that again, he had never seen anything like that before and he pushed himself up, leaning his hands on either side of her body so he was level with her scar.

“You do not think I look disfigured and… ugly, now?” Elena asked nervously as she saw him surveying her chest again, her hand moving up to touch it self-consciously.

Ivar rolled his eyes in irritation, “You have a brain like a cow. Stupid girl”

He placed a hand to her chest and pushed her backwards into the basin, laughing loudly as she crashed into the water, “Do not ask me stupid questions”, he called out as she sputtered and coughed breathlessly, “It would be impossible for me to ever see you as ugly” he murmured quietly to himself.


	15. Chapter 15

Elena walked towards the blacksmiths where she knew she would find Ivar. She had been walking through Kattegat, wanting to see the people that lived there, but it seemed as though people didn’t want to see her. Conversations she tried to start were quickly brushed off, women spoke to each other in hurried whispers as she walked by and she could see people actively avoiding her. She skulked into the clamorous wooden shelter, seeing Ivar at the iron wheel, deep in concentration as he sharpened his axe. He looked up as she dragged a stool towards him and the corners of his lips pulled into a faint smile as he stopped what he was doing.

“Are you done making friends?”, he said mockingly, 

“I do not think your people like me very much”, she said, ignoring him as she sat herself beside him, “It is like they do not trust me”

“Of course they do not trust you, you are Saxon”, Ivar shrugged, twisting his body to face her but keeping his eyes focused on the axe in his hands, turning and examining it in admiration. Elena folded her arms across her chest, leaning against the wooden beam behind her sulkily as she narrowed her eyes at Ivar. Annoyed at herself for expecting even one comforting word from the Norseman. 

“Why do you care?”, he muttered as he ran his finger along the sharp edge of his weapon. Elena watched as a trickle of blood began to pour from his skin before he placed it to his lips, sucking at the deep crimson liquid,

“If this is to be my home now then I would want people to like me” she said distractedly, unable to tear her eyes away from what his mouth was doing,

“What does it matter if people do or do not like you?”, he pulled his face in contempt as he finally looked up at her and placed the axe down in front of him,

“Do you not want people to like you? To love you? These are your people” Elena said, still staring at his blood-stained finger,

“I do not care if people like me. I want them to respect me, to fear me. Love is nothing”

Elena was pulled from her stupor at his words, “You do not love anyone?”, she asked

Ivar stared at her wordlessly, a brief look of confusion in his features as he watched her expression change into something he didn’t understand, before he shrugged indifferently.

“Then why am I here, Ivar?”, Elena snapped, a burst of anger suddenly exploding inside of her,

“Excuse me?” He scowled, perturbed and thrown off by her sudden reaction,

“Why am I here? Why did you bring me here?” She spat, springing to her feet so she was standing over him,

Ivar frowned as he watched her lips tense in anger, “Are you saying that you do not want to be here?” 

“No I am asking you why you brought me here?”

“If you do not want to be here then you are free to go”

“Do you want me to go?!”

“If you do not want to stay then yes, I wish you to go”

“Then I will leave if that is what you wish!”

“So leave!” Ivar roared, making Elena jump back fright, “Go and find Ubbe, I am sure you will find he has no problem taking you in”

Elena screamed loudly in frustration, all of the grievances she had felt from the day suddenly erupting to the surface. “I hate you!”, she yelled as she drew her hand back and struck him across the face angrily. Ivar grabbed her wrist and yanked her ferociously down into his chest. She yelped as the wound across her shoulder and chest burst with pain, but Ivar didn’t care. Elena panted heavily, wincing through the pain as she glared viciously at him.

They came to an impasse, neither wanting to be the first to yield, both waiting for the other to make the next move or throw the next insult. Ivar’s fingers dug into the flesh on her forearm so painfully that Elena eventually had to admit defeat. She tried to pull away from his grip but he refused to relinquish his hold on her. She raised her hand in an attempt to strike him again, but his reactions were quicker, more skilled than hers were, and he immediately captured it and twisted her round violently, vigorously forcing her arm behind her back as he pressed her into his chest. His lips hovered over her ear, his hot breath wafting against the side of her face as he opened his mouth to speak. 

But he found himself at a sudden loss for words. He looked down at her, the feel of her warm, slender body pushing into his sparked an arousal inside of him. And more than that was her face, scrunched up, teeth bared in a mixture of anger and pain at the position he held her in. He tugged harder on her arm, and she made a noise that was both a whimper and a growl. His prick stiffened almost instantly.

He bit down on his lower lip momentarily as he tried to decide on his next move. He nipped at her ear lobe, lightly at first as she tried to pull away, but when he began to bite down harder the familiar flush grew across her cheeks. He never loved her face more than when her cheeks were the same colour as her blood. 

He released her arms and Elena groaned in relief as comfort spread back through her veins, but it wasn’t long before his hands were grabbing her waist and pulling her onto his lap, her back still pressed to his chest, “I am going to make you scream”, he murmured into her ear, pushing her legs as far apart as they would go until they were hanging from either side of his lap, “Remember the things I would do to you… Before…”, his fingers moved down the back of her dress, tracing each of her scars. He knew where each one lay, he had memorised them, memorised their size, where they started and where they ended. 

Elena felt a shiver run up her spine, knowing exactly what things he was speaking of, she had often wished for him to do it again. But she was afraid, after what Godric had done to her, she wondered if it would be the same. Ivar took her silence as compliance, and he placed his hand on the back of her head, pushing her down until her palms were on the ground and her thighs were still either side of his legs. The position pulled on the scar across her chest, and was already making her shoulder ache painfully, but the excitement she felt overpowered any discomfort. The vulnerable position he had placed her in, knowing it was the middle of the day, knowing anyone could walk in at any moment made her toes curl in excitement. 

She was barely stable before Ivar had yanked her dress over her hips, holding the bunched material in one hand whilst the other came down hard on her exposed cheeks, right first then left. Elena jerked and squealed from the sudden pain but was given no time to collect herself before he heaved her ass further onto his lap so she could feel his erection pushing into her crotch and spanked her three times on her left buttock. He rubbed his hand over her flesh, soothing the burning skin before turning his attention to the right, striking her four times, each one harder than the last. Elena’s eyes began to prick with tears from the stinging in her backside, her arms were barely able to hold herself up as Ivar’s hand came down over and over, switching between her cheeks. 

Ivar stopped, admiring the bright pink shade she had turned, the tiny splotches of red where the buckles around his wrists had connected with her skin. He slid his fingers along her sex, groaning at how wet she was, he skimmed over her anus, spreading her dampness across her crease. He watched as her arms twitched slightly, her right shoulder shifting uneasily,

“Is it too painful? For your wound?” He asked, pushing his fingers inside her sex suddenly and smirking as she groaned loudly, her arms trembling from holding herself up,

“Would it make you stop if I said yes?”, she panted, her eyelids fluttering as Ivar’s fingers moved skilfully in and out of her, 

Ivar shoved his tongue against his lower lip as he thought about it. He looked down at her, at how exposed and vulnerable she was to him. Just the sight of her body, her beautiful scarred body made him think of a thousand more things he would do to her if she would let him, “No”, he said, releasing his grip on her dress and striking her cheek again as he continued to stroke the sweet spot inside of her, “The earth can keep its wonders. I have mine right here”

His hands continued to explore in between her legs as though it was the first time he had touched her, each stroke making her moan louder than the last time. He looked down to where her head was, wanting to see her face when he pushed his finger inside her rectum, but before he could a loud cough interrupted him. He looked up to see the blacksmith standing uncomfortably at the entrance, his eyes flitting to Ivar and down to his feet. Ivar removed his hands and quickly pulled Elena upright, pulling her dress down to hide her body from the mans sight. He wrapped a protective arm around her waist, squeezing her body in what he meant as a comforting gesture.

The man walked quickly through the room, grabbing a handful of his tools before almost sprinting back outside. They waited until he had left before Elena twisted herself round, pressing her forehead against his as they laughed. Ivar smirked as he rubbed his nose on hers, “You have just given him a view he will never forget, Saxon”

“He was stood watching for long enough”

Ivar stopped, pulling his face away from hers just enough for him to see her features, “You knew he was there?”

Elena’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, wishing she had never spoke

“Did you like him looking at you? Did you like him watching what I was doing to you?”, he smirked, his eyes gleaming with arousal,

“Shut up, Ivar”, she muttered as she climbed down from his lap, brushing her skirts down as she tried to avoid looking at him. He watched as she fumbled nervously with her dress, her face brighter than her ass cheeks, and his grin only widened, 

“Come with me”, he ordered as he clambered down from the stool he sat on. Elena watched as he crawled outside, rolling her eyes before reluctantly following him. She walked behind him through the mass of busy traders, reaching the quiet hills beyond and climbing down until they reached the small lake people would sometimes go to bathe or swim, half hidden behind a sparse collection of trees. Elena narrowed her eyes as Ivar crawled towards it, stopping at a large tree that stood at the embankment.

“Ivar, you cannot swim”, she said as she watched him pull his tunic over his head. He threw the material behind him and glared up at her, “I know that, stupid girl. I haven’t brought you here to watch me drown”

“That is disappointing”, she smiled as she sat herself in front of him, “It is something I fantasise about often” 

He grabbed the neckline of her dress and pulled her on top of him, “Let us see what other fantasies we can undertake first”, he mumbled as he began to fumble with the laces on her bodice. Elena watched in amusement as he struggled with the knots, his face growing redder in frustration as he pulled on them fruitlessly. She had tied them tighter than usual that morning in an attempt to stop the material falling and revealing her scar to people she didn’t want to see it. He yanked her suddenly towards him and began gnawing at the lace until it snapped in two, he gave her a brief smile of satisfaction before tugging the material down her body. 

He heard their voices before he saw them and smirked to himself as he pulled his naked woman back on top of him, her hands instantly grappling with his breeches, pulling them down to the middle of his thighs.

“Do you want to put on a show, Saxon?”, he asked, his voice low and filled with lust as his hands held onto her rear. He nodded behind her towards the lake, and Elena’s eyes followed where he was gesturing. She saw a small group of men undressing at the other side of the water, laughing loudly to each other as they readied themselves to bathe. They hadn’t noticed Ivar and herself yet, and she turned back to him, blushing furiously but unable to stop the grin that was spreading across her face. 

“Take me in your mouth”, he demanded, and without hesitation she scrambled down his body, her ass on display to whoever was behind her as she devoured him. She heard Ivar’s sharp intake of breath, and felt his hand on her scalp before he gripped her hair, “They are watching you”, he murmured through shallow breaths as he looked up to see the men were now staring, fixated on his woman. 

He wanted them to look at her, he wanted them to envy him as they watched him take her. He wanted them to see. He knew Margrethe had not kept her mouth shut, he was no fool, and after what Sigurd had said at the feast… He wanted them all to watch what he did to his woman, let them hear her screams, “They want you, I can see the desire in their faces”

He yanked her back up by her hair, hearing the sucking sound as her lips parted with his cock, and bought her face level with his own, “But they cannot have you, can they?”, he said, his free hand snaking around her throat and squeezing. Elena shook her head quickly, too aroused to be able to even think in coherent sentences, “You are mine, yes?”, she nodded again, whimpering as his fingers squeezed tighter and his prick twitched against her sex, “Show them that you are mine”, he growled quietly as he released his grip on her hair, grasping his cock and guiding it towards her. She lifted herself on top of him, “Let them hear my name on your lips”

Elena groaned as she lowered herself down, taking all of him inside her, “Let them hear it, Saxon”, Ivar growled again, and she moaned his name over and over as she moved up and down, slowly building up more steam, her hands gripping his shoulders while his gripped her throat, “Louder”, he snarled, bucking his hips and tightening his hand,

“Ivar!”, she cried, her voice strangled from the pressure he was placing on her windpipe

“Louder!”, he roared, letting go of his hold on her neck and grabbing a chunk of her hair. He pulled her head back and attached his mouth to the sensitive part of her neck, sucking and biting furiously as she bounced up and down. His other hand fumbled round to her front, groping in between her folds as she grinded against him until he found her bud. Elena’s thighs were burning with the effort of keeping herself moving, and she had to wrap her arms around Ivar’s neck to steady herself as she felt herself close to coming. He pulled his lips away from her skin with a loud smacking sound as her head fell into the crook of his neck, he brushed her matted hair away from her flushed face, grunting loudly as she continued to rock against him. He could tell she was close, he knew by the way her eyes scrunched up and her lips parted. He continued to stare at her, wanting to see her face as she made herself cum on his prick.

She cried out Ivar’s name as her pelvic muscles contracted around his cock, the warmth of her orgasm spreading down her thighs and across what felt like her entire body. She had barely come to the end before Ivar had thrown her onto her back and was thrusting himself back inside her, his gaze flitting from her dazed face to the scar across her front, both pushing him to the brink of his own orgasm. He placed his mouth over part of the scar, making circular motions with his tongue along the calloused flesh. His body jerked violently and he groaned into her damp skin as his seed spilled into her.

Elena wrapped her arms around his neck as he collapsed on top of her, both panting heavily. He shifted his head so it rested on her shoulder, his finger habitually trailed along her scar as she stroked mindlessly across his back with hers. They had both forgotten about the men in the lake, and when Elena eventually remembered she saw they were no longer there. Ivar rolled onto his back sleepily as she stretched across him to reach for her dress, he looked at her in confusion as she straightened out the material, 

“What are you doing?” he murmured tiredly, 

“Shouldn’t we be going back? It is getting late”

Ivar snatched the dress from her hands and threw it carelessly to the side, “We will sleep here, it is a warm night”, he pulled on her shoulder, forcing her to lie back, and his eyes were already closing as he shuffled down her body to rest his head once more on her chest, his arms wrapping around her torso, 

“I am leaving for England again soon”, he said suddenly, “Before I leave I—“

“—I want to come with you”, she blurted

“No”

“I—“

“No”, he snapped, lifting his head, his blue eyes glaring at Elena with such a ferocity that it rendered her silent, “Do not argue with me on this. You will stay here”  
To his surprise she didn’t argue with him, but her hands left his body and her face turned away from his in her own silent anger. What he had planned on telling her could wait, if he would bother telling her at all.

 

Elena tried to sleep, to will her eyes to stay shut but they wouldn’t. She lay perfectly still with Ivar snoring lightly on her chest while the arguments they had had earlier replayed in her head. She slowly and carefully pushed herself from underneath him, gently lowering his head onto the grass they lay on before pulling her dress back over her body. She tried to tie the laces, forgetting that Ivar had ripped it in two and she huffed quietly to herself. She had lost count of how many times she had already had to have her dress mended because Ivar had been too impatient when undressing her. She quickly threw Ivar’s tunic over his naked body, covering his modesty before tip-toeing the few metres to the lake, sitting with her bare feet making waves in the water. 

Love is nothing. That was what he had said, and those words echoed over and over. Nor did he want her in England with him.

She jumped as Ivar crawled up behind her, placing his lips on her bare shoulder, “I thought you were sleeping”, she said, shrugging her dress back across her skin,

“I was”, he muttered, sitting himself beside her. She saw he had his breeches back on and wondered how long she had been sat there. They stayed in silence, watching the ripples as Ivar skimmed pebbles across the dark lake.

“What is wrong?” He muttered as he threw another stone, “You are far away”

“I am just thinking”

“Of what?”

She shrugged “Us”, she said as she turned to look at him

“Me and you?”

“What other us is there, stupid boy”, she said, mimicking the way Ivar would always speak to her,

Ivar tried to disguise his smile by pushing his tongue into his cheek, he struck her leg lightly with the back of his hand, “Why are you thinking about us? What is there to think about?”

“I… It is just, what you said before, about love being nothing, and I asked you if you loved anyone?”, She took a deep breath, readying herself “Well, I wanted to tell you—“

She was interrupted by a shrill scream from across the lake, followed by the sound of something crashing into the water. Elena squinted her eyes to try and see through the darkness, making out two figures in the water. 

“Ivar!”

It was Hvitserk. Ivar lifted a hand in acknowledgement of his brother, but his eyes narrowed at the girl that he had straddled around his waist. Elena gasped loudly and grabbed Ivar’s hand, “Ivar, is that not Ubbe’s wife?”

Her look of horror broke Ivar away from his glare and he couldn’t help but chuckle at her shocked expression, 

“Does Ubbe know?”, she asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the couple 

“You are concerned about my brother’s feelings?” he snarled, all amusement now gone from his face,

“No, I just…. That is his wife… And his brother” she said, unaware of Ivar’s intended scorn,

“He knows, you do not have to worry about him”


	16. Chapter 16

They sat together on the large pile of grain sacks, a heavy silence lingering over them as they watched the crowd weaving in and out around them. People moved from one foreign stall to the next as traders loudly advertised their goods to passers-by. But it was the busy port across Kattegat’s markets that her eyes kept shifting to. She could see the boats creaking and rocking on the water as gulls circled around the masts, screeching noisily through the strong winds. She knew she wouldn’t see what she was hoping to, but her heart ached in disappointment as she looked into the empty grey waves of the sea. 

“You still have many days left to wait before his return”

Elena looked at Ubbe and tried to hide the unhappiness she felt with a faint smile, “I know”, she muttered, turning back and trying to keep her gaze fixated on one position to stop it drifting back to the vacant water. 

Ivar had remained resolute in his decision not to take her to England with him, and their last days together were spent arguing ferociously with each other. Elena did not want to be left alone in Kattegat, but Ivar did not think she would be safe in England, and neither were willing to back down. When the time came for him to leave they had barely touched each other in over a week. He had woken in the early hours of the morning that day, before the dark of the night had fully surrendered to the dawn. Her back faced him as he turned to her, locking his arms around the small of her waist, and pulling her slender body into his chest, nuzzling his face into the curve between her neck and shoulder in a rare show of affection. But Elena had feigned sleep. She ignored the faint kisses he trailed along her skin, and hoped the goose-bumps that rose after every brush of his lips didn’t reveal her consciousness. She disguised her shiver as he brushed her untamed hair away from her face, and held her breath as he lay watching her sleep for the last few moments before he climbed from the bed and headed towards the waiting boats.

Now, eleven days later, Elena was left wishing she’d had the courage to just open her eyes, if only so she could have looked at his face whilst it was still heavy with sleep and vacant of his usual bitterness for one last time before he went away.

“Elena?”

She jumped as the unfamiliar voice pulled her from her reverie, and was startled to see a tall, raven-haired woman stood before her, a wide, unnerving smile across her face.

“You _are_ Elena, are you not?” 

She felt Ubbe tense beside her, and before she could answer he was standing in front of her, cutting her off from the unusual woman, “What do you want, Astrid?”, his was voice low, but there was no mistaking the animosity that carpeted his words.

“Queen Lagertha wishes to speak with our new inhabitant”, she grinned, trying to look around his shoulders to Elena.

Elena froze at the name, Ivar had spoken of her often, of his desperate want to kill her. She knew what she had done. She looked to Ubbe questioningly, and he looked back, his eyes warning her to stay quiet,

“Why?”, he asked

Elena peered her head round Ubbe’s broad back and saw Astrid’s eyes glint playfully as she stepped forward, running a long finger down his chest as she spoke, “You would not want her to disobey your Queen, would you?”

There was a moment of silence, a stand-off between the two Vikings before Ubbe finally surrendered, “I will come with her”, he declared, his eyes still glaring at Astrid as her finger traced along his jawline, her face only inches from his, “It is not you she wishes to see, dear Ubbe”, she smacked her lips together as she said his name, then turned to Elena, “Come with me”

The woman walked away, her hips swinging with each slow step she took

“Come”, Ubbe muttered, placing a hand on the small of Elena’s back as he pushed her forward. She looked to Ubbe as they followed the raven-haired woman to the Great Hall, grateful that she wasn’t entirely alone, even if he wasn’t Ivar.

Ubbe ignored Astrid’s ungenuine protests and pushed past her to follow Elena through the doors of the Hall. He guided her towards the table and sat beside her, trying to silently catch her attention, but she was too absorbed in the surroundings of the Hall to notice his eyes burning into her.

“I do not remember inviting you, Ubbe”

Elena’s eyes darted to the top of the table, and her whole body tensed as she saw Lagertha. She stood with her hand placed softly at the back of the head chair, her hair was braided and her blue dress was covered with the leather and chain mail she had seen on warriors before they went to battle. Her face was soft, but her expression was hard as she stared at Ubbe.

“I am here with Elena”, he said, pushing his chair back onto its back legs, his hands pressed tight against his thighs as he stared back at her. 

“I can see that”, she said, “What I do not understand is why”

“We both know why”, he retorted, staring back at her with as much ferocity as she gave him,

“I only wish to talk to her”

“And I am not stopping you”

“It is ok, Ubbe” Elena said, seeing that neither was willing to back down, “Go”

Ubbe looked down to where she had placed her hand on his arm, before reluctantly pushing away from the table and walking from the Hall. Elena watched him leave with a growing uneasiness, the bones in her body felt like they were made from lead and when she turned back she saw Lagertha was now sitting, her blue eyes watching Elena with an intimidating stare. 

“How are you finding Kattegat?”, she asked suddenly,

Elena’s hands were clasped together tightly in her lap, unable to find her voice she nodded gingerly. Any confidence she had had before now gone. 

“I am told you are a Saxon, does that mean you are also Christian?”

Elena shifted in her seat and shook her head quickly, “I am no Christian”

“What Gods do you worship?”

“None”

Lagertha’s eyebrows raised briefly as she studied the young Saxon in front of her, her brown hair long and dishevelled as though she had long since took a comb to it, and her pale blue eyes stared expressionlessly back at her, if it wasn’t for her guarded body language and shaking leg she would have had a hard time reading her, “You speak our language well, tell me how that is?”

Elena could feel the eyes of Lagertha’s shield maidens staring at her from around the room, but she kept her eyes focused on the woman in front, trying to keep up her dwindling pretence of confidence, “My mother would often speak to me in her own tongue, she was from these lands” 

“So I believe. Strange, that a Christian Earl should marry a Viking woman”

Elena fell silent again, uncomfortable speaking of her parents to a stranger she knew only terrible things about. She wished Lagertha would drop her false interest in her and say what it was she intended to say.

“Your mother, did she teach you anything else?”

Elena’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Anything else?”

“Did she teach you how to use a sword? To fire an arrow? You say she was Viking, many Viking women are skilled with a weapon, even if they do not fight”

Elena shook her head, though it was something she always wished her mother would have taught her, she was only ever allowed to watch, never learn. She wondered why it mattered to Lagertha.

“If you like, we could teach you. We can train you to become a shield-maiden. I can give you a purpose here”, Lagertha watched Elena’s reaction, her bewildered expression. She saw the falter in her eyes as she spoke and knew she had found her weak spot. She had been watching her since her arrival in Kattegat, trying to find out as much about this new Saxon as she could, “You would like to have _some_ kind of purpose, wouldn’t you Elena? I do not wish to sound unkind when I say this but, your only purpose at the moment is to warm young Ivar’s bed… Is it not? Please, correct me if I am mistaken”

Lagertha’s words cut like a knife. In England, there wasn’t a day spent where she hadn’t felt obsolete, as though she was always walking aimlessly with no direction. Being with Ivar had given her something else, the feeling that maybe she did have a purpose, but her face burned in shame as she looked at the woman in front of her, not just a woman, a warrior, and a Queen. There was nothing she could say to defend herself. She had no skill. No purpose.

“Would you like that, Elena?”, Lagertha continued, “Would you like to be trained as one of us?”

Elena tried to shake her feeling of defeat off, she lifted her chin and forced herself to make eye contact with the intimidating woman sat in front of her, “Why?”, she asked, her voice laced with a feigned confidence.

“Why, what? What is it that you do not understand, sweet Elena?”.

“Why do you wish to train me, to teach me how to fight? What do you want from me in return?”

Lagertha leaned back in her seat and bought her goblet to her mouth, smirking against the metal. The young Saxon was not as dim-witted as she had believed her to be. She waited, taking a long sip before she answered, “I want nothing in return but your loyalty”

“I am loyal to Ivar”, Elena spoke without hesitation, straightening her shoulders as she narrowed her eyes

“I am not asking you to choose between your loyalties”, Lagertha said, “Only that you show me the respect I deserve. I am your Queen now after all, Elena. And your life will be much easier if you have me on your side. Especially at times like this when you do not have Ivar to protect you”

Elena felt a chill run up her spine, Lagertha’s gaze was unnerving and her words even more so, but Elena was given no chance to react before Lagertha’s chair was scraping across the stone floor as she stood up, “You are free to leave”.

She walked back towards the back of the Hall, “My shield-maidens train every morning, if you decide that you want to take me up on my offer, you will know where to find me”  
Elena’s legs moved mechanically towards the doors, it was only when she reached the bitter cold outside did she realise she was holding her breath. She glimpsed Ubbe walking towards her and quickly pushed her unkempt hair behind her ears, hoping that her face was no longer flushed as she tried to compose herself. He was silent as he walked in step beside her, waiting for her to speak, but Elena only wished for him to leave her alone. She was desperate to get back to Ivar’s cabin, to hide away until his return. She would have felt better if Lagertha had threatened her outright, instead she was left wondering what it was she really wanted, and what it was she would do if she didn’t get it.

“What did she say to you?”, Ubbe finally asked as they reached the cabin. 

Elena shrugged with a forced carelessness, “Nothing”, she mumbled, “We spoke of my mother, she was curious about her”

Ubbe studied her face as her hair blew wildly in the wind, “You are lying”, he said

Elena felt the heat creep into her cheeks and she cursed her traitorous reactions, “I am not”, she muttered, pushing on the door and praying that Ubbe didn’t follow her inside,

“Did she threaten you?” He put his hand against the door to stop it closing behind her and Elena sighed in frustration, spinning on the spot to face him,

“No, Ubbe”

“If she did I—“

"-Leave me alone, Ubbe!”, Elena snapped, “Why are you always at my side, why are you not at your wife’s? Or does she prefer your brother? Is that why you follow me everywhere? Do you think that Ivar will share me like you share Margrethe? Because he will not. I am Ivar’s and I will not betray him for anyone”

Ubbe flinched involuntarily as she slammed the door, and he stood staring at the uneven wooden planks, running his tongue along his lower lip as he debated whether to push himself inside anyway. He was no stranger to cutting remarks, he had grown with Ivar. But instead he turned away, leaving her alone as she wished, glaring at one of Lagertha’s shield maidens who tried to hide herself behind a cluster of trees.


	17. Chapter 17

_She had always felt an affinity with broken things, things that didn’t fit in, things that were different to the rest of its type. So she didn’t choose the tallest tree to climb, or the easiest, or the most magnificent. But the strangest looking one. The one that leaned too far to the left, and who’s branches seemed to grow at strange angles, making it appear as though they were twisted and entwined together. Jagged twigs left scrapes on her face and rips in her skirts as they snagged on her dress, her hair that she had left hanging loosely past her shoulders, became entangled in sprigs and stems and pulled painfully at her scalp as she continued to climb. She stopped only once she had reached the highest branch, she had hoped it would silence her thoughts, but Lagertha’s words still replayed themselves over and over in her mind. She had been thinking too much into them, had let them affect her in a way that would never have happened half a year ago. But they were like wasps flying around her head, every time she thought she had expelled them, they would come back, buzzing in her ear once more. Her heart ached and her stomach churned with nausea as she wondered if they were right, if her life was so purposeless that she truly was nothing more than a warm body for Ivar to play with._

Ivar hobbled from the ship, the iron crutches he leaned on clunking loudly on the wooden ramp as he made his way onto the dock. He would celebrate their success, _his success_ , later. But now his focus was on something else, there was only one person he wanted to see, and he pushed his way through the bodies of the returning men, hoping to find her waiting in the boatyard for him. His stomach tensed in anticipation.

He ran his tongue over his mouth, licking the metallic taste of blood from his lips and smirking as he was reminded of the man he had killed not two hours earlier. A man who had thought it wise to challenge one of his orders. He had plunged his knife under his chin without hesitation, the oar still held in the mans clenched hands as his blood sprayed across Ivar’s smiling face. He waited until the liquid that poured down his hand had turned dark and thick before he pulled the knife from his flesh and threw him from the boat. He saw fear on the faces of his men that moment, fear that still hadn’t left their eyes when he looked at them now and he wished his Father was here to see it.

He stopped, his smile fading from his face as he caught sight of Ubbe walking towards him, his eyes focused directly on his youngest brother. There was a long moment of silence as they stood in front of one another, Ivar’s eyes glaring whilst Ubbe only studied his brother as though it was the first time he had seen him. 

Ubbe’s laugh broke through the silence, and he dragged Ivar into a tight embrace, placing his hand on the back of his brothers head and pushing his face down into his neck. He was almost taller than him stood upright. Ivar gasped at Ubbe’s sudden, unexpected embrace, but it was more than welcomed, his grin was wide as he let his brother hold him upright while he placed an arm around his back, pulling him into him.

“Look at you, brother”. Ubbe mumbled, as he pressed their foreheads together. Ivar felt a weight that he didn’t know was there leave his shoulders as his brother looked at him the same way he had before Sigurd’s death. But his happiness was short lived as he noticed Margrethe stood nervously behind him, her eyes flitting from Ubbe, to the floor, never looking directly at Ivar. 

“I see you have been successful”, Ubbe nodded, gesturing to the goods that were being loaded onto the docks, Ivar tried to ignore her presence as he pulled away from his brother and looked to the boats.

“I have taken much from the Saxons this raid, Ubbe. More than anyone else before me. And this is only the beginning. I have plans, Ubbe, bigger plans even than those of our Father” Ivar smirked, “I have found a new land across the sea to the west of England. They are not like the Christians. I will gather more men, they will sail to this new land with me and I will do things greater than you could even imagine”

“You have done well, brother” Ubbe smiled, he didn’t doubt his words. Ivar had proven everyone who doubted him wrong. His intelligence was comparable to nothing else he knew. He would be great, maybe even more so than their Father, “And I have some news of my own”

Ivar raised an eyebrow as he looked to Ubbe questioningly, 

“I am to be a Father”, he grinned “Margrethe is with child”

Ivar’s eyes darted to Margrethe, the small swelling of her stomach now so evident. She flinched away from his glare and he looked back to his brother, feigning an expression of happiness. He nodded in acknowledgement, ignoring the unexpected pang of jealousy he felt as his brother wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Ivar patted his back before pushing himself away, trying to shake off the sudden resentment he felt. 

“Where is Elena?”, he asked, looking around the now depleting harbour of people, still unable to see her familiar face. Ubbe shrugged, she had been hard to find since her encounter with Lagertha. She was never in Ivar’s cabin, and nobody ever seemed to know where to find her. Ivar watched through narrowed eyes as Margrethe whispered into Ubbe’s ear. He hated her now more than he ever had before.

“Margrethe saw her not long before your boats were seen, heading north towards the woods” Ubbe said, “She may not know you are back yet”

Ivar nodded, still glaring at Margrethe before hobbling silently away from his brother. He pushed all thoughts of his brother’s news to the back of his head, not wanting to think about the reasons behind his reaction, why he felt such a gut-wrenching jealousy towards him after everything he had just achieved.

 

Elena ran as fast as her legs would take her, tripping over small uprooted trees and scraping her hands and knees across the rough ground, but she didn’t stop even as she clambered back to her feet. She raced towards the port with her lungs burning and the muscles of her legs aching as she pushed herself forward. She could see the shipyard, could see that it was almost empty and her heart sank as she ran the last few metres, believing she had missed his arrival and he would think she wasn’t there to greet him. 

She stopped short before she reached the docks, freezing in place as she saw him. 

He was standing. Holding himself upright on two iron crutches. 

He stood still as he noticed her, unable to stop the smirk that pulled on his lips as she began to walk tentatively towards him. He noted that she was out of breath before her lips crashed against his, and he had to steady himself against his crutches as he leaned his neck down so her arms could wrap around him.

He felt a jolt in his stomach as she stared at him. There was something different in her eyes, it flashed only for a second but he had seen it well enough, the way she looked at him as though he was a stranger to her. 

Elena pulled back and placed two hands on either side of his face as she studied him. He looked older. His face was leaner and his eyes looked tired and red. Even his hair was different. He wore it in braids now, and she bit her lower lip, the new sight of him sparking a fire in the pit of her stomach.

“You are so tall”, she murmured as she touched his face, “I never realised…before”

“And you look like you have been made a slave since I have been gone”, He smirked as he gazed at her dishevelled hair, the grazes on her face and the dirt that covered her skin and clothes.

Elena blushed as she pushed her tangled hair behind her ears and tried to fold the skirts over the largest tear in her dress. She looked back up to Ivar and opened her mouth to explain, but froze as she saw who was walking up behind them. Ivar slowly twisted his crutches round as he followed her gaze and at once his face hardened, his fists clenching tightly around the iron he leaned on. He stepped forward as Elena stepped back, and a fleeting smile appeared on Lagertha’s lips. 

“You have done well, young Ivar”, Lagertha stood surrounded by her shield-maidens with her head held high as though she couldn’t be touched, “People will say great things of you now”

Ivar said nothing. He wouldn’t have been able to voice his thoughts coherently even if he had found the right ones. A cruel sneer formed on his face as he thought about what her face would look like if he pushed his blade into the tender skin of her throat, just like he had done to the man on the boat. Elena had walked up behind Ivar as she saw the whitening of his knuckles. She placed a hand on the small of his back, fearing if he allowed himself to submit to his anger he would no longer be able to hold himself up. 

“Have you thought anymore of what we spoke about, Elena?” she asked coolly, as she turned her attention away from Ivar.

It was Elena’s turn to glare. Lagertha’s intention was clear as she smiled arrogantly, watching as Ivar’s scowl turned on Elena before she walked away. 

Ivar’s eyes were black with anger, but he said nothing. Only glowered at her as though she had betrayed him in every way before he turned and staggered away wordlessly.   
Elena followed him reluctantly. She could handle his often impulsive outbursts of anger. But it was his calm, controlled anger that frightened her the most. He was silent until they made it to his cabin. He stopped before he reached the door, his head bowed and turned to the side, but not looking at her directly,

“You have been speaking with Lagertha?”, his voice was low and dangerous. 

Elena sighed, she knew she must keep herself calm if she was to speak of her to him, “She spoke to me”, she muttered.

“What did she say?”

Elena shrugged, she would not tell him everything Lagertha had said. Ivar was no fool, and he would see the threat in her words just as well as she had, “Nothing of importance, she offered to train me to become a shield-maiden”

He shifted his body round as he stared at her, the expression in his eyes unreadable. “And that is what you wish? Hm? For Lagertha to teach you to fight?” Elena opened her mouth but he interrupted her before she could protest, “You want to learn to fight? You can barely lift a sword how do you expect to use one?” He snorted, shaking his head derisively at her, “Look at your arms. They are like a child’s. You cannot fight. You wish to see yourself as Viking, but you are Viking in mind only. And even that is a fantasy your mother created for you. You are a Saxon. And you are weak”

He pushed himself inside and fell to the bed as soon as he reached it, dropping the crutches to the floor. He could use them with ease now, stand tall like other men, but they pained his arms and shoulders dreadfully, they burned as he rolled his neck back and it only served to make his irritation at Elena worsen. 

His head snapped up as he heard her walk inside, but his eyes narrowed at the unusual meek expression she wore. He had expected her to walk in, her blue eyes blazing with her usual fire, but he saw only a shadow of his Elena.

She stepped towards him cautiously, afraid of getting too close. She didn’t have the fight in her to fend him off if he lashed out. She hated Lagertha. She hated her with every inch of her being. Ivar had been returned to her and already they were in the midst of another battle with each other because of her, 

“Ivar… I do not wish for Lagertha to teach me anything. I would never betray you like that” she said quietly, unable to meet his eye, “But I do wish to have a purpose”, she could hear herself repeating Lagertha’s words and her shame increased, “I spend my days wandering around Kattegat like an aimless child, I cannot fight, nor can I sew or weave or tend to wounds… or do anything that any of the other women do. And Lag—she simply made me see that I truly do not have purpose here”

Ivar watched her curiously, his anger dissipating as he saw a timid and spiritless side to her he had never seen before. His lips pulled up into a lopsided smirk as he leaned forward, his hands clasped together as his elbows leaned on his thighs, “Your purpose is to be with me. You are mine, and I am Ivar the Boneless”

He spoke as though those words would be comforting, as though there could be no greater purpose in life, and once again Lagertha’s words replayed like an echo in her mind. _Your only purpose at the moment is to warm young Ivar’s bed… Is it not?_

“Is that all I am?”, she snapped, “The pet of Ivar the Boneless, here simply to lay with you as and when you desire it?”, she could feel the tears pricking her eyes and she cursed herself for being so pitiful.

Ivar was frowning, his face full of confusion as he listened to her words, “What are you talking about, stupid girl?”

“You say I am yours, but sometimes I do not know in what sense. Am I here to simply warm your bed as people say? Or—” The lump in her throat stopped her from saying anymore, and her face flushed in embarrassment,

Ivar shifted forward on the bed and reached out, grabbing a handful of her dress and pulling her towards him as he looked up at her, “Do you think I would bring you to Kattegat just to warm my bed? There are a thousand women I could lay with, why would I choose to bring a Saxon to do what anyone else could do just as well?”

“If that was supposed to be flattery, Ivar, it did not come across as well as you meant it”, she sniffed, letting him pull her onto his lap, forgetting about his legs as she allowed her full body weight to rest on him,

“Shut up, woman” He murmured as he burrowed his face into the crook of her neck, his lips brushing across her skin as he spoke, “I think I have proven your meaning to me”

She pushed his face away, urging him to look at her, “Just say it once, Ivar. Tell me just one time that you love me, one time and that will be enough. I will not have to hear you say it again I swear”

His eyes were filled with confusion once more, and they flitted down to his lap nervously but she only lifted his chin and forced him to look at her once more, her eyes pleading with him as though those three words would keep her safe from some unknown enemy,

“You are an idiot”, he laughed suddenly, shaking his head at her contemptuously, “Of course I love you. Do you think I would keep you around if I didn’t? You are maddening… And annoying and you always look more like a thrall than a woman”, He lifted a chunk of her unkempt hair up as though he was proving his point, “And yet here I am. If that does not prove my love for you then we truly are doomed”

Elena smiled reluctantly as she tried to strike his chest, but his hands caught her wrists and he pushed her onto the bed, his grinning lips pressing against hers, his tongue exploring her mouth as though it was the first time he had tasted her, his body pinning her to the bed, his need for her so bad she wouldn’t have been able to fight him off even if she had wanted to.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is literally the worst, and most pointless filler chapter I have written. Sorry! I am so stuck on this at the minute! But thank you for your comments, they're the only thing that make me want to keep writing so please give me some feedback, I need motivation for the next chapters!

Hvitserk lunged towards his brother and thrust his sword arm forward, only to find he was blocked by Ivar’s, and a resounding clang echoed through the clearing as the two swords collided. He tried to twist and step out of the way but even his quick movements were still too slow, and Ivar easily subjugated him, knocking him off balance and using the weight of his shoulders to push him away until he crashed to the floor.

Elena rested her chin on the fallen tree she leaned over, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end as she watched the two brothers train together, readying themselves for their next raid. She tried to observe their movements and the way they held their weapons, but their actions were too fast and Elena was finding it hard to concentrate on anything else but Ivar. She was captivated by the fire in his eyes, and how easily he overpowered his brother even whilst sitting. He would be leaving again soon, and she had yet to find the courage to ask if this time he would allow her to go with him.

“You are still hoping to be trained as a shield maiden?”

Elena jumped and turned her head to see a smirking Ubbe walking towards her, “So Ivar has told you?”, she asked, rolling her eyes irritably, preparing herself to listen to more reasons as to why it was such a ridiculous notion, “Are you here to tell me I am stupid as well?”

“Why would I tell you that you are stupid?”, He asked, sitting himself on the large trunk, his back to his brothers as he looked at Elena, “I think it is a good idea. You should learn how to fight. You should be able to defend yourself”

Elena smiled at him, her shoulders sinking in appeasement as she pulled herself up to sit beside him, “I wish your brother held the same opinion, he refuses to let me so much as hold a sword”

Ubbe shrugged, “You are not in England anymore, Elena. If you wish to do something here you can do it. A woman is not ruled by any man but her Father. Not even her husband”  
They were interrupted by the sound of Ivar calling her name across the clearing. He crawled towards them, scowling as he dragged himself along the mud-spattered grass. His jealousy was bubbling under his skin as he glared at them together, they thought he was blind, that he could not see the way they looked at each other. Elena tried to pass him the crutches as he approached them but he knocked them back swiftly and pulled himself onto the log before grabbing Elena’s hand possessively, making sure Ubbe could see their entwined fingers.

“Well? Do not let me disturb you, Ubbe. Carry on” He pursed his lips, his hard, intimidating gaze flitting between his brother and Elena.

“Ubbe was just saying that he thinks I should learn how to fight”

Ivar’s head snapped round to his brother, “You were?”

“Do you not think it is time? I am to live here after all, and if I do then maybe…” Elena breathed in slowly as she thought about her next words, “Then maybe I will be able to join you, on your raids”

“No”

“But, Ivar—”

“You think you will ever be capable of raiding? Do not be so stupid”

“I do not mean to raid with you, I would still stay with the other women, but if I knew how to fight then you would not have to worry so when you—”

“—No”

“She is much wiser to the dangers of raids and battles now, brother”, Ubbe started “Maybe if you allowed her…”

Ivar silenced him with a sharp glare, his brother of all people should know why he would not allow Elena to go with him, after everything that had happened to her, why would he risk her getting hurt in any way again, whether she was able to fight or not. He knew Elena, and he knew that having the ability to fight would only make her more eager to put herself in situations she should not be in, “Are you both lacking in hearing as well as wits? My answer is no”

Ubbe held in hands up in defeat as he stood, “Then I will say no more”, he said, rubbing his hand over Ivar’s braided hair, knowing how much it would aggravate him, before turning to Hvitserk, who had remained quiet in the background as he watched his brothers warily. He had seen that look in Ivar’s eyes a few times before, and he was relieved when Ubbe took a step back, he wondered briefly how the Saxon girl would fair once they were alone. 

“Are we to have this conversation every time I am to leave? Do you wish to irritate me?” Ivar snapped as he turned back to Elena.

“It was only a question, Ivar”, she muttered quietly before looking back to Ivar’s brothers, “Will you be going, Ubbe? Will you be joining the raid?”, she asked, desperate to take Ivar’s focus away from her, but he only narrowed his eyes, his grip on her hand getting tighter as he watched the way she looked at his brother, “Ubbe is happy to stay and farm like every other unexceptional man here” he snarled in answer.

“I am happy to be unexceptional, Ivar. I know who I am, and I am content with my life” Ubbe shook his head as he turned back to Elena “I will be remaining with Margrethe, I must stay here for the birth of my son”

“Your son?” Elena exclaimed, “Margrethe is with child?”

“Ivar did not tell you?”

Ivar shrugged as Elena turned to look at him questioningly. He cared little about sharing Ubbe’s news. If his brother wanted to stay in Kattegat, surrounded by children and his farm then so be it, he had bigger plans than just reproducing. He told himself he had no interest in being settled. And yet, he found himself staring at Elena’s stomach, wondering how the wiry girl would look with a swollen belly of her own. 

It seemed to not matter what he did, Ubbe would always surpass him. He had two working legs, whatever woman he set eyes on, maybe even Ivar’s own woman, and now he would have a son. Ivar told himself it did not matter, but once again he was overwhelmed with jealousy towards his brother. 

He waited until his brother’s had turned their attentions to each other before snatching his crutches, pushing himself upright and limping away from the clearing, Elena following closely behind, watching him in confusion. She could see his familiar look of anger, she wanted to wait until he was ready to speak, but her frustration at his constantly shifting moods got the better of her. 

“What is it now?”, she asked as she caught up to him, “What terrible thing have I done this time?”

“Do you think I am blind?” he snapped, “I have seen the way you look at him.”

She frowned, “Ivar, what are you talking about?”

“Ubbe loves you”, he muttered as he breathed heavily through his nose. He couldn’t look at her, he didn’t want to see her reaction to his words, afraid he would see something in her face that he would come to wish he hadn’t. 

Elena jerked at Ivar’s claim, “What?”

“What part of that are you finding difficult to understand?”, he snarled

“He does not love me”, she whispered hurriedly

“You are nothing but a foolish Christian” Ivar scoffed loudly, “It is obvious to anyone who sees you together that he loves you. Sometimes you are as stupid as you look”

Elena took all the strength she had and used it to control the familiar impulse she had to strike him, “I know kindness is unknown behaviour to you, Ivar. But just because someone else shows it to me, does not mean they love me” 

“You might not think he loves you, but you will not deny that he wants you” Ivar grunted breathlessly. His arms burned as he struggled to match Elena’s quickening pace, but his anger boiled deep in his system, ravening for destruction and pushing him forward 

Elena stormed off, bolting through the woods away from him, realising he would not be able to keep up with her on his crutches. Though she knew he would only follow her back to the cabin, it would give her a few moments alone to compose herself.. He pushed himself into the cabin, eyes alight with aggression and anger, as she knew they would be.

“Go away, Ivar” 

“You would rather it wasn’t me here with you? Hm? Is that it? Would you like me to fetch Ubbe? What about Hvitserk? They do not mind sharing a woman?” He spat, letting his crutches fall to the ground with a loud clang as he fell onto the bed.

He was raring for a fight, and she told herself she would not give him one, but she felt her whole body slump in defeat as words began to pour from her mouth, “What do you need me to do, Ivar? What do I have to do to prove to you that I am yours? What, is leaving my home for you not enough? Almost getting myself killed for you? What, Ivar?! What do I have to do?!” Angry tears streamed down her cheeks, and she drooped into the chair she had been stood beside, covering her face with her hands, trying to hide herself from Ivar in embarrassment, “It is not me who is unsure of this relationship, Ivar. I give everything to you, do anything you want and still I am not enough. Still, you do not believe that I am yours”

Ivar wanted to stay angry, he wanted to wrap his hands around her throat and squeeze until she could never be anyone else’s. But as he looked at her, the way her shoulders shook as she cried, all of his anger fizzled away. He hesitated before he slid himself from the bed and shuffled towards her, he tentatively reached his hand out towards her but as soon as he touched her skin she pushed him away, “No, Ivar”, she croaked, standing and stepping far enough away from him so that he could no longer reach him, “You are like a child. Come and find me when you are grown” She slipped out of the door and Ivar was left to stare at the empty space she had occupied.


	19. Chapter 19

He found her where he knew he would. He had shown her many weeks ago the place he would go when he wished to be alone, and she had claimed it alongside him. He said nothing as he pulled himself onto the rock beside her, and they sat in silence as they watched the grey sky above them turn darker and the clouds grow more ominous. 

He had always been a jealous man. There was much to be jealous of when you were a cripple, and being with Elena hadn’t changed that. In fact, sometimes he thought he was worse. Ubbe, the brother he had always admired the most, always wished he could be more like, looked at her in the same way Ivar did. He wanted to believe that it was nothing, but when he saw the way she smiled back at him, the way he made her laugh in a way that Ivar would never be able, his jealousy was irrepressible and it only inflamed his deep-rooted belief that Elena should be with a man like Ubbe, not an undesirable cripple like him. 

He bowed his head as he spoke, “My anger, and my jealousy they can make me… difficult”, he mumbled tilting his head slightly as he tried to watch her through the corners of his eyes, but all he saw was her scoff of derision as she turned her face away from him. He sighed, trying to tame his impatience as he exhaled slowly through his nose, “If I am unkind to you… I am sorry”

“You are sorry until the next time another man smiles at me and then we are back here” Elena snapped, shaking her head, still refusing to look at him,

“Ubbe is not just another man, he is my brother”

“Yes, Ivar. He is your brother, and he loves you, just as I love you. When are you going to start believing me when I say that? I am tired of having to fight you and your insecurities every day”

“Are you tired of me?”, his hands gripped the jagged rock he sat on, fixating his gaze on the dirt underneath his feet, a fleeting memory of being there with his Father flashed in his mind, and his knuckles whitened from the pressure he was putting on them, only worsening with Elena’s near suffocating silence. 

“I will change… I will be a better man for you” He stumbled over what to say. Kind words never came to him easily, and he shifted where he sat as he struggled to think of the right ones.

“I do not want you to change, Ivar”, she sighed in frustration “I just want you to trust that I am yours only”

She turned her body round to face him, crossing her legs underneath herself as she grabbed his hand and forced him to look at her, “There is no one else like you, Ivar. I do not want for a kind, gentle man, I want you”

The corners of his lips pulled into the faintest of smiles, and he squeezed her hand briefly in acknowledgement of her words before they both fell into silence again. He let his hand relax in hers as she fidgeted with the braces that protected it. He could read her face like he could read runes, he knew each of her expressions and he could see by the crinkle in her brow that there was more she wished to say, “What is it?”, he asked, his fingers curling over hers lightly.

“Why are you not pleased for your brother?” she asked, the words spilling from her mouth before she could stop them, “That he has gotten Margrethe with child?”

Ivar hid his surprise at Elena’s words with a scornful snort, “It is as much his child as it is Hvitserk’s”

“Is it because of me?” 

“Excuse me?” His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he scowled at her, not understanding what she was saying, and a knot tied in his stomach as he thought back to how he had felt when Ubbe spoke of his unborn child, he wondered briefly if she could read his face as well as he read hers.

“I saw you. I saw the way you looked at me when he spoke of having a child, is that what you want from me?” she watched his reaction, she saw the way he hunched his shoulders, the way he glowered at the floor and the way his jaw clenched and unclenched the way he only did during the rare times he felt uneasy, “I am not a seer, Ivar. I cannot see what you are thinking, sometimes you have to tell me what it is you want”

Still, he remained silent, the tightening in his stomach only getting worse the more she spoke, he didn’t want to answer her, afraid of what her reaction would be.

“Do you want a child, Ivar?”, she asked bluntly, and he turned his face away so she couldn’t see him, “Yes”, he muttered quietly, “But…”, he stopped. He wouldn’t say anymore.

“What? But what?”

“It does not matter” He flicked his hand at her as he shook his head. He would not tell her his fears, that he was afraid any child of his would be cursed with the same disease as him. He worried she may not have yet realised that herself. He worried that if she knew she could give birth to a cripple just like him he would lose her forever.

“Ivar—”

He glowered at her, his eyes blazed with warning and she knew to not push him any further. 

She watched as a flush of colour surged into his cheeks, and for the first time she understood why Ivar liked it so much when hers would turn a similar colour. She found herself forgetting what they had spoken about, her mind wandering to the broadness of his shoulders and more as her eyes trailed down his body.

“How sorry are you?”, she asked quickly, unable to refrain from smirking as he frowned at her, 

“What?”, he stared at her, confused by the sudden change to the tone of her voice, and the small smile as she looked back at him, her eyes glinting playfully, though he didn’t know why, 

“How sorry are you?”, she repeated, leaning her elbows back on the large rock as she pulled her knees up,

He opened his mouth to speak, but found he had no answer, he didn’t know what she wanted to hear, his face was so contorted with puzzlement that Elena had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing,

“Do you want to show me how sorry you are?”, she smiled and parted her legs slightly, not breaking eye contact with him,

He stared at her for a moment longer, until the realisation of what she was implying struck him like a stone to the back of his head. The confusion in his features changed to an animalistic lust, and he lunged towards her, his hand grabbing her by the back of her neck as he tried to pull her into him, desperate to taste her mouth. 

But she turned her face and his lips landed under her ear. He looked at her questioningly, making her smile grow wider and she placed a hand on the top of his head, pushing him down her body, hesitantly at first, unsure if he would allow her to take control. 

He understood her meaning immediately, and smirked to himself as he slid down from the rock and positioned himself in between her legs. 

“Show me how sorry you are”, she commanded, lifting her dress above her knees. Ivar quickly took charge and pushed the dress to her waist before grabbing her by the hips and pulling her closer to him. Her elbows scraped painfully across the rock, but she was given no time to contemplate the stinging in her arms before Ivar’s tongue was lapping along the stretch of her sex. He circled his finger around her entrance as he began to flick his tongue against her bud, the way he knew always drove her crazy and he smiled against her tender flesh as her groans resounded in his ears. He slid his finger inside of her as he felt her wetness growing, then slipped in another and curled them against her walls as she placed her feet on his shoulders, opening herself up further to him.

 

His stiffness pressed against his breeches, begging him to be released so he could take her the way he wanted. His fingers left her and he moved his hand down to his crotch as he began to fumble with the ties, desperately trying to free himself, but Elena swiftly moved her foot and pressed it on top his hand, stopping him from going any further. She shook her head as he looked up to her curiously, his tongue still pressed against her clit, “I don’t think you’re sorry enough yet”, she breathed, lifting her hips slightly as the first drops of rain landed on her face. He growled into her skin and nipped at the inside of her thigh as he slid two fingers back inside her, thrusting harder, and more fervently while his mouth continued to suck and play with her nub. Elena lay her head back on the rock, barely noticing the rain that was now coming down hard, soaking every inch of them as she fell into a state of delirium. Her hands reached down to Ivar’s head, trying to grab a chunk of his braided hair and she smiled as one loosened in her grip, she pulled, twisting it in her hands, making Ivar growl against her and she whimpered at the vibrations it made against her clit. 

It was Ivar’s favourite sound, that pleading noise she made when she was close to her climax, he wanted to make her come, he wanted to hear her moan his name as she came against his lips, but he couldn’t wait. His desire to be inside her was too much and he grabbed her hips, ignoring her protests as he lifted her from the rock. He lay back on the wet mud, rain pounding on his skin as he positioned her over his face, his tongue swishing over her wetness whilst his hands undid his breeches, finally freeing his straining cock. He lifted her once more, easily placing her over his length as he pushed her down onto him and let out a low groan, his eyes closing involuntarily as she took all of him inside her.

“You were supposed to make me come first before I let you…” she panted, halting her speech as she rode him, “I was supposed to be in control”, she mewled to herself, 

“Then you should have found a different man”, he growled, grabbing her waist and flipping her onto her back into the cold mud, he gripped her behind the knees and lifted her legs up to her chest before plunging forcefully back into her. Each thrust was rough and furious and as he looked at her flushed face, her wet hair matted to her forehead as the rain splattered across her closed eyes, he swore he would not question her again, he swore he would just love her the best he could, if that was what she needed. 

She moved her legs from Ivar’s grip and wrapped them around his waist, tightening them against his body and he knew that movement meant she was coming. He was almost there himself, but he wanted to watch her, he wanted to see her face, how her cheeks would burn even brighter, and the way she bit down on her lip as she tried to stifle the loud moans he wished she would let out. 

She reached behind his head, grabbing his loose braids as she pulled his face down into hers, pressing his nose against hers as she came, Ivar’s body jerked in reaction and he growled against her lips as he shot his seed inside of her. 

They lay panting, Elena’s limbs still wrapped around his waist as the rain came down, she lifted a hand to his face, trying to wipe a speck of mud from under his eye, but only served in her muddy fingers spreading more across his cheek. 

“You look like a slave who has been working in the swine pits” she laughed as he pushed her dirty hair away from her eyes, 

“And you look like one of the swines” he retorted, dipping his fingers in the dirt beneath them and wiping them across her face, “What’s more you smell like one”

He rolled off her, narrowly missing her hand as she swung it round to hit him. He lifted his hips and pulled his breeches up, tying them quickly as Elena stood, letting her skirts fall back into place. 

 

Ubbe stood at the edge of the trees, his eyes focused on the brown-haired girl at the top of the hill. He heard the breaking of twigs, and felt the brushing of skin against his cloak as someone came to stand beside him, he turned to see Margrethe as she placed her hand gently inside the crook of his elbow before following his gaze to Elena

“You like her”, she said quietly, as she watched the girl clamber back onto the rock with Ivar sat by her legs. Ubbe looked at her, eyebrow raised as he struggled with a response,

“It is ok”, she said, smiling at her husband and squeezing his arm reassuringly, “It does not change things”

“I am just…intrigued by her. That is all”

They fell into silence as they both watched Ivar irritably bat away Elena’s hand as she unsuccessfully tried to fix a braid in his hair.

“Do not pursue her, Ubbe” she said suddenly, her eyes urging him to listen, “Please. I am afraid of what Ivar will do to you if you do”.

 

They made their way towards the cabin, Elena listening intently as Ivar spoke of his next raid,

“They say the land is of Christians and pagans, and it has a ruler, a Christian ruler, but they are not ruled well. They will be easily overpowered”

“You plan to rule this land?”, she asked

“Yes” he smirked, 

“How?”

“We will see what the land has to offer. We will raid, and take many of their treasures and slaves for our people. Then I will offer their ruler a deal, much like what we tried to do in England, but I will be smarter. I will leave them so ruined and afraid that they will have no choice to agree to my offer”, He grunted as he crawled across the ground beside her, “Once I have that power, more people, more of our people will listen to me. They will follow me, I will gather many men, and then I will take back Kattegat. I will have my revenge on Lagertha. There will be no one who does not fear me” _Apart from you_ , he added silently.

Elena felt a swell of pride as she listened to him, pride that she was the one walking beside him. But there was still a lingering fear as he spoke of taking over Kattegat, “You will go to war with Lagertha? She has many behind her as well”

Ivar scoffed, “When they see what I have become they will no longer wish to follow that whore usurper, they will follow a son of Ragnar, his heir. The true heir to Kattegat”, he looked up to her, seeing her chewing on her bottom lip and pulled on her dress as he stopped, forcing her to crouch beside him, he grabbed the side of her face and pressed his forehead against hers, “Do not worry. When I return there will be no need for you to worry about anything again”

She nodded wordlessly and pressed her lips into his, the taste of rain water and the familiar warmth of his mouth made her hungry for more and her hand instinctively went to the hem of his tunic as she tried to lift it over his torso but he placed his own hand over hers, “Not yet”, he mumbled, squeezing her fingers lightly, “I need to speak with Hvitserk. Have a slave draw you a bath and wait for me there”, His hand reached round and squeezed her rear before crawling away.

 

Elena carried on, holding her damp, heavy dress above her ankles as she trudged over the muddy ground, she could see the Great Hall in the distance, could hear the discordant laughter from the many people feasting and drinking inside as she walked towards the cabin. She was so fixated on watching the men stumbling to and from the Hall that she didn’t notice the two women who had come to stand in front of her. She gasped as she felt two hands on her upper arms, and jumped as she saw a face in front of hers, she recognised her immediately to be Astrid, and vaguely recognised the face of the woman beside her to be Bjorn’s woman.

“How are you, Elena?”, Astrid smiled as she dropped her hands from around her arms,

Elena nodded in reply and tried to step around the two women, only for them to block her path,

“Lagertha would like to see you”

She wanted to say no, to carry on to the cabin and wait until Ivar’s return, but for once, she didn’t have the courage. She fell into step with them as they walked towards the Great Hall. She had only been inside once before, and that was the last time Lagertha had summoned her. Ivar preferred to avoid as much contact with the Queen as possible, the more he saw her the less control he would have over his desperate need to avenge his mother, and that meant that any feast held in the Hall by the Queen was not attended by Elena either. 

When she walked inside it was vastly different to what she remembered from when she was last there, this time it was swarming with people in every corner of the room, the table she had sat at was also full, with flagons of ale and hundreds of plates of food, the noise of men laughing, of people having fun almost made her forget where she was heading and she smiled to herself as she watched them all, remembering how her mother would describe Viking feasts and celebrations, it was exactly how she had imagined it to be. 

The noise quietened as they moved further up the Hall and it was only when the animal pelt closed behind her that she turned her attention back to who she was with. Astrid perched on the edge of the table in front of her, her hands pressed flat behind her as she smiled widely. Elena was aware of Lagertha’s second shield-maiden stood behind her, but before she could turn to look Lagertha walked into the room. 

“Hello Elena”

Elena watched her as she stood beside Astrid, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder as she whispered a quiet thank you,

“Ivar will be waiting for me”, she blurted, “He will come looking for me if I am not back soon”

“Ivar is currently in talks with his brother about their upcoming raid, it could take all night”, Lagertha said coolly, her eyes never leaving Elena’s. 

Astrid laughed loudly and Elena turned to look at her, “Do not look so afraid, sweet Saxon. We are not going to hurt you”

Elena had no time to respond before Lagertha was stepping towards her, “You look filthy. That is no way for the wife of a son of Ragnar to look. Torvi, fetch a slave to have a bath drawn for our friend”, she turned her gaze to the woman stood behind her then back to Elena, “There is much we have to discuss with you tonight”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was ok, I think I'm rushing to get to the other chapters I have planned that I'm excited about. Please leave feedback and let me know what you thought!


	20. Chapter 20

His shoulders ached and his arms burned as he pulled himself along the ground, searching any alleys or dark corners that he might have missed in the night. He grunted in pain with each movement he made, he had left his crutches hours ago when his legs had begun to pain him, but now the pain had dulled and the one in his arms was unrelenting. But he would not stop.

It was Hvitserk who found him in the early hours of the morning, banging his fists against closed doors, calling her name into the still sleeping town. His eyes were red with exhaustion, and his face contorted with anger and worry, he only stopped when he saw Hvitserk running towards him.

“She is with Lagertha”, his brother panted, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath, “One of the men saw her shield-maidens taking Elena to her last night”  
Ivar’s rage, the rage he had been trying to subdue while he searched for her, while he searched every corner of Kattegat not knowing what had happened to her, came bubbling to the surface and he roared, spittle flying from his mouth, slamming his fists into the ground before crawling as fast as his tired body would allow him to the Great Hall with Hvitserk at his heels.

Ubbe met them there, stood outside the closed door that led to the Hall. Ivar’s hands gripped his dagger and his axe as he crawled towards him, his eyes wild with fury, his mouth tightened to a thin line as he breathed heavily through his nose.

“Open the doors”, he growled at his brother, his eyes never leaving the entrance

“Let us not be too rash, Ivar”, Ubbe said, taking a tentative step in front of his brother, “We are outnumbered, we cannot fight them. We must be rational”

“If she has touched her, I will kill her” he growled, glaring at Ubbe, his knuckles white as they wrapped around his weapons.

“Lagertha has promised she is safe, I have spoken with one of her maidens”, Hvitserk added, standing beside his brothers

“Once we have her back, peacefully. Then we will discuss a retribution” Ubbe said, 

“Are you talking of revenge?” Ivar scoffed, “Where was your need for revenge when she killed our mother? Where were you when she took over OUR kingdom? Do not speak to be about revenge, I will do this alone I do not need you”

Ubbe knew there was no arguing with him, and he looked to Hvitserk quickly before pushing the door, allowing Ivar to crawl inside.

The shield-maidens were on their feet, weapons at the ready before Ivar had even dragged his feet inside, as though they were expecting him. He knew they were. Lagertha walked towards him, the ghost of a smile on her lips, and it only made him angrier. His eyes scanned the Hall, searching for any sign of her scrawny frame and tangled hair, but he couldn’t see her.

“Hello Ivar”

He scowled, growling under his breath as Ubbe quickly snatched a stool and placed it before Lagertha as Ivar climbed onto it. His brothers stood on either side. Hvitserk kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, he had seen that look in his brothers eyes before, and as he looked around the Hall, surrounded by Lagertha’s people, he prayed for his, and his brother’s sake that Ivar’s Saxon girl was ok. 

“Where is she?”, he growled, his voice laced with an anger that would have sent a shiver up the bravest of men’s spine.

“She is safe, Ivar. We have done her no harm”

“WHERE IS SHE?!”, he roared, spittle flying from his mouth “ELENA!” He called out, his eyes searching past Lagertha for her.

“I have to take precautions, Ivar. You must understand that. There are rumours you plan to overtake Kattegat once you have your new land, I am only looking to find out the truth”

“You will release her now”

“I am not keeping her, she is free to leave at any time”

Ivar pulled his dagger and placed it under her chin. The Hall erupted with Lagertha’s warriors stepping forward, swords all pointed at Ivar and his brothers, “If you kill me, they will kill you, and then they will kill Elena”

He glared at her, his mind racing with what he should do next. He would love nothing more than to shove his blade into her flesh and watch her as all the life left her eyes, he would gladly die to see it. But then Elena’s face flashed in his mind, and reluctantly he dropped his hand. 

Lagertha nodded to Astrid, speaking to her silently with her eyes, before Astrid gestured for Ivar to follow her. He scowled at Lagertha and crawled after the shield-maiden, glaring at her back until they pushed past the animal pelts. He knew the place, it used to be his mother’s room, he knew every inch of the Hall and he hated being there, knowing it was Lagertha’s and not his. It belonged to him. 

He pushed the pelts out of the way and immediately heard her familiar laugh, a sound he was not expecting to hear. Crawling further inside he saw her, Torvi at her side as she played with Bjorn’s children as though she wasn’t sat amongst a den of wolves, all waiting to tear her apart.

“Elena”, he barked, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at her, wondering how she could be smiling, did she truly have no idea where she was or who she was with?  
Elena turned her head, her eyes widening and her lips erupting into a wide grin as she looked at him, her hands dropped the wooden toy immediately as she stood and flew over to him. She crouched down and grabbed his face, kissing him eagerly. 

Ivar wanted to knock her away, to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she was a pile of broken bones. But he couldn’t. He was too overcome with relief to have her near him again, he didn’t have the strength to push her away. He grabbed her wrist, holding her close to him, “Did they hurt you?”, he asked quietly, and she shook her head silently, before Ivar tapped her knee, gesturing for her to stand. She followed him out, avoiding all eye contact with Lagerthas maidens, but unable to avoid looking at Lagertha herself.  
The Queen watched her intently as she walked out with the Ragnarssons at her side, if she could play her correctly, she could be the chess piece she needed to keep herself on the board. 

 

 

“What did she want?”

“Did she hurt you?”

Elena looked to Hvitserk and Ubbe as they spoke simultaneously and shook her head, “I am fine. I think she wanted to know about your next raid, she kept asking me what I knew and why I was not going with you. Then she… she showed me how to use a bow and arrow”

Elena looked down to Ivar who was crawling beside her, he had remained silent since they left the Hall, and she knew that look on his face too well, the seething anger behind his thin lips and dead stare. She supposed he would be less angry with her if she had been hurt, and sighed irritably.

She saw Hvitserk and Ubbe gesture to each other to leave, and she wished she could ask them to stay, she didn’t want to argue with Ivar again. She wanted them to stay and distract him until his anger had burned away but all she could do was watch helplessly as they left. 

Ivar was still silent as she followed him through Kattegat, past his cabin and towards the ironsmiths. He crawled inside to his usual spot, pulling his axe from his belt and placing his hand on the wheel ready to turn, but Elena reached over, holding the hilt of his axe over his own hand and he glared up at her, 

“Say it”, she said, “Say what you have to say, Ivar”

He wanted to hold his tongue, he didn’t want to speak to her. The terrible thoughts that had been running through his mind all night as he wondered what had happened to her, only for him to find her playing house with those traitors. He didn’t even want to look at her, but his tongue was quicker than his head. He pulled his hand away from her touch and pointed the axe in her direction, “You think I have anything to say to you? Maybe you should crawl back to that whore, if you enjoyed your night learning how to fire an arrow so much”

“I never said I—”

“—You are stupid, Elena! Your brain is smaller than a cows!” he roared, slamming his axe into the woodwork at the side of him, “Do you think she is a friend to you?! Do you think that everything she said to you wasn’t a threat to me?!”

“Of course I knew it was a threat, Ivar!” She spat, “I am not as naïve as you believe me to be. Surely it was safer to play along with whatever game she is playing and let them believe I am as ignorant as you make me out to be if I am to stay here while you are gone”

He exhaled loudly through his nose, letting his hand fall to his lap “You are not staying here”, he said quietly, 

She felt her heart jump at his words, the idea of not being away from him for weeks or months made her forget his harsh words and she stepped forward to take his hand, 

”There is a boat taking more people to the settlement in England”, he continued, “You will stay there until I return to you”

She stopped, her smile faltering at his words, “Live in the settlement? I don’t know anyone there”, she muttered, frowning in confusion, “No. No, I don’t want to live in the settlement, I want to be with you… to wait for you at the camps like the other women”

Ivar chuckled under his breath, “No”, he said, shaking his head, “I will never allow you near another battle. Near any Saxon or any enemy again”

“Then I would rather stay here”, she said resolutely, squaring her shoulders and folding her arms across her chest as she looked at him,

“What?”, He scowled at her, his lips pulling into a grimace,

“I do not want to go. Not this time”, she watched his eyes narrow at her, the irritation in his features almost making her back down,“Do not get angry. I know what you are going to say, but I just… I would rather stay here, where people are finally starting to talk to me, then be left in another settlement on my own whilst I wait to find out if you are going to return or not”

“I will not have you stay here, not with her” He snapped,

“Lagertha will do nothing to me, she is afraid of you, can you not see that?”

“That is exactly what makes her a danger to you”, He didn’t understand how she could be so stupid, so naïve. She was no fool, he knew that, and yet time and time again she chose to act like one,

“It is also exactly why she won’t hurt me”

“My answer remains the same”

“As does mine. I am staying”

He stared at her, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find words that would not drive her further away, she could be as stubborn as he was, but he could not muster them,

“A woman is not ruled by a man here”, she shrugged with a smirk as she repeated Ubbe’s words, leaning back on the chair opposite him, waiting for his usual burst of rage. She watched his fists clench and unclench, his gaze never wavering as he stared at her. But then he smiled. It was small, and fleeting, but she saw it. 

He didn’t have the energy to fight with her, he would make her listen to him, but not today. His eyelids were heavy, and his body felt weak. He wanted only to hold her, to have her close to him, he could forget everything for a while, if only she was beside him, and he reached his hand out towards her. There was no hesitation as she entwined her fingers in his and let him pull her closer. He placed his forehead on her shoulder, leaning his tired head against her as his arms wrapped around her waist. 

“I am tired, come to bed with me” he murmured into her skin, brushing his lips across the curve at the base of her neck

“The sun has barely risen”, she began to protest, but when she looked at him she saw the red around his eyes, the heavy eyelids that blinked slowly as he stared, silently pleading with her. She wondered if he had slept at all, and she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt that she didn’t try harder to leave.

 

His shoulders slumped tiredly as he sat on the bed, eyelids already falling as Elena crouched in front of him, holding his face up as she kissed him softly. She grabbed the hem of his tunic and nudged his arms, gesturing for him to lift them. Weakly he held his arms above his head as she pulled his tunic off before concentrating on his breeches. She untied the laces and he tensed as she pulled the material from his legs, still uncomfortable whenever they were to be revealed to her, something he thought he would always feel. They still disgusted him whenever he looked at them, why would they not do the same for her?

She stood up and turned around, waiting for Ivar to undo the laces of her dress. He did, slowly, and lifted his hands to push the material from her shoulders, letting the dress fall to her feet. His fingers traced the small scattered scars across her back all the way down across her rear before she turned to face him, where he brushed his lips along the larger scar across her chest. He hated thinking about how she had gained them, but he loved her body now more than he ever did before.

He wrapped his arms around the small of her waist, pulling her onto his lap as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, “Come with me”, he murmured against her skin, “Come with me, stay in the settlement… I want to know you are safe, I do not trust her”

Elena shook her head softly, “I will come if you let me stay with you”

“You will not stay, you will wander, you are drawn to danger and if anything happened to you I…”, his face fell further into her body, “I would not be able to live without you”  
“Then I will stay here…this time”

Ivar opened his mouth to speak but Elena pressed a finger to his lips, “I will stay here, and Lagertha will not touch me. She wants to use me as leverage against you, hurting me will do the opposite of what she wants. Do not worry, Ubbe will be here”

His arms tensed at her words, “If you believe Ubbe loves me as you say he does, then you can believe that he will protect me if he has to”

“Shut up”, he grunted as he tugged her body, laying her down on the bed as he shifted his body down, resting his head on her breast as he closed his eyes, “We will talk over this tomorrow, I am not finished”

Elena loosened his braids and stroked his hair until she heard his heavy breathing and his shoulders relax in her arms, until she felt her own eyelids drooping shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filler chapter. So there was a huge smutty paragraph at the end, but it disappeared and so now because I'm lazy there is no more smut...maybe next chapter

Ivar sat outside, sharpening his axe with a blade when he heard Elena’s familiar huffing as she climbed the small hill his cabin sat on. He looked up to glare at her, intent on demanding why she hadn’t been beside him that morning when he woke, but his eyes glanced over her shoulder to the two women who were disappearing behind the shelters below, “Have you been with them?”, he spat. He didn’t have to see their faces to know who they were. 

Elena knew who he was speaking about, but she followed his gaze anyway, “No”, she muttered, narrowing her eyes at their backs as she watched them walk away, “I couldn’t sleep, I was walking through—” 

She stopped when a girl walked up behind her, her hands pulling nervously on the unwashed apron around her waist as she looked anxiously to Ivar and back, “You sent for me?”, she stammered, her voice quiet and timid, barely audible over the sounds of the busy town below, 

Ivar reluctantly turned his glare from Elena to the slave girl besides her, “You are the one skilled with hair?”, the young girl nodded quickly, but the fear on her face made it apparent that she wished she could say otherwise, “You will answer me when I speak to you, slave”, he spat, he had little patience to deal with fools today, “Unless you have no use for your tongue, then I will gladly cut it out for you”

“Yes”, she croaked, unable to disguise the tremble in her voice. Ivar was known across Kattegat for making good on his threats, especially when it came to slaves. She wondered how the Saxon girl he kept dared speak to him the way she would hear her speak sometimes, how she wasn’t already dead by his hand. She didn’t think her brave or admirable, as others did. She thought her stupid. 

Ivar sneered as he watched the slaves shaking hands, the way she was barely able to look at him without cowering. Elena saw the fear in girls face as well, and she saw the way Ivar relished in it. She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop the smirk that pulled on the corners of her lips, “You are frightening her, Ivar”, she placed a hand under the girls elbow as she looked to him, “I will do it, let her go before she collapses with fear”

“You are better at pulling hair from my scalp than binding it”, he snapped, still displeased with her, “She will do it. And she will do it quickly, there are things I have to do”  
Elena could see the kind of mood Ivar was in, and she wanted to find another place to hide whilst she waited for him to scowl his way out of it, but one look at the terrified slave made her think twice about leaving her alone with him. So reluctantly, she followed them inside, dragging her feet with each step.

“What were you doing with Lagertha’s women?” he asked the moment he pulled himself onto the wooden chair,

“I wasn’t with them”, she said, folding her arms in an involuntary defence, standing in front of him as he glared at her, a look that was intimidating to most but by now she was so used to his scowls she barely recognised his face without one, “I couldn’t sleep, I was walking and they followed me”

It was only a half lie. Lagertha’s women had followed her, and she was sure they had been spying on her from the moment she left Ivar’s cabin, but she was not walking because she could not sleep. She had woken early, made her way to the woods to find the bow and arrows that Lagertha had secretly gifted to her weeks ago, and practiced what the Queen and her shield maidens had taught her. It would be safer to admit false feelings for Ubbe than to tell Ivar such a thing. 

“They have been following you?” Ivar’s hand went instinctively to his axe as he scowled at the open door as though they would appear by the power of his thoughts alone. He would open their skulls the next time he saw them.

“I think so”, Elena started, not noticing the rage that made Ivar’s hands clench into fists until his knuckles turned white, “They seemed to be there wherever I went, but…they didn’t say anything, they barely even looked at me. They were just…there. Maybe I am overly-suspicious”,

“And you think I will let you to stay here?”, he pointed his finger at her as he spoke, “You really believe I will allow you to stay here alone?”

Elena sighed in frustration as the all too familiar argument started once more, “I am hardly alone, I—” 

“I DO NOT CARE THAT UBBE IS HERE ALSO!” he roared, lunging forward in his seat, “YOU ARE MINE TO PROTECT! NOT HIS!”

She rolled her eyes in exasperation, entirely unphased by his outburst and turned her body to leave. His arm snapped out, grabbing her wrist, his nails digging painfully into her flesh as he yanked her towards him, “ _You are mine_ ”, he snarled, “You would do well to remember that”

“You never let me forget it”, she snapped, wrenching her arm away from him and rubbing her skin where his grip had already left red idents, “You were not so keen to keep me protected when you left me here to sail to England”

“And you were not so keen to stay. Things have changed”

“Is this still about Ubbe?”

“This is about who you belong to. You belong to me. And you will do as I say”

“So because I am yours I must always bend to your will? Do you want me down on my knees, Ivar? Kissing your feet whenever you greet me?”

“Now she is learning”, he clucked his tongue cockily as he spoke, leaning back in the chair while the slave continued braiding, “You look much prettier on your knees, though it is not my feet I wish those lips of yours to touch”

The sudden mischievous glint in his eyes made her momentarily forget herself and her anger at him. He reached for her hand again and she let his fingers dance along hers before he pulled her closer and softly forced her to crouch at his legs. She tried to scowl at him as his finger traced along her cheek, his thumb brushing across her lips, “Show me what they can do”, he smirked, pulling her lower lip down and slowly pushing his thumb in between her teeth. She closed her mouth around him, letting her tongue swirl around his digit as she sucked, causing him to let out a low growl.

The slave stopped, believing her presence no longer wanted, and tried to walk towards the door but Ivar held a hand in front of her, stopping her from going any further, “I don’t believe you have finished, or that I gave you permission to leave”, he snarled, not moving his gaze from Elena, who let his thumb fall from her mouth as she shook her head at him despairingly, 

“What?”, he said, smiling at her as the slave nervously started back on his hair, “I thought you took pleasure in people watching you? Or did you think I had forgotten how loud you screamed my name that night by the lake?”

He watched as Elena’s cheeks flushed at his words and he shifted where he sat, smirking smugly at her as he untied his breeches. Her silence told him everything he needed to hear, and the red in her face made him even more eager, “Let her watch”, he said as her eyes flitted behind his shoulder to the slave at his back. 

She felt sorry for the girl, and she wanted to rebuff Ivar, to be the one calling the shots for once. But her eyes widened as he pulled his already hard prick from his breeches and in an instant she had forgotten all about the slave. 

It was then that Hvitserk came crashing inside, tripping clumsily over the entrance as he stared at the scene in front of him.

“What?” Ivar spat, pulling on the material of his tunic to cover himself. Hvitserk coughed, unable to hide the smirk on his lips. Elena tried to move away but Ivar’s quick hands grabbed her shoulder, and held her still against his thigh.

“King Auden wishes for you to drink with him before it begins” Hvitserk said, his eyes now leering at the slave girl,

“Tell him I will be there later”, he snapped, his fingers kneading Elena’s shoulder vigorously in what looked like an indifferent show of affection from him, but she knew it more as a show of his sexual frustration,

“He has been asking all day. Lagertha will be back from the defense towers soon, it is said she wishes to speak with him also. I thought you would rather be the first to greet him”

His fingers stopped moving and instead gripped her shoulders painfully, “What need does she have to speak with the King of Sweden? She has no reason, she is not the leader of this raid”

Elena pried his fingers from her shoulder and squeezed them in her hand until he looked at her, “Go”, she urged, the lust still apparent in his eyes as he reluctantly nodded at her,

“Ready yourself and join me. I will have you at my side, not wandering Kattegat like an abandoned dog”, he muttered before turning to the slave and ordering her to fetch his crutches. 

He had almost reached the door when he turned back to her and nodded his head towards the bed, “There”

Elena narrowed her eyes at him before following his gaze to the bed. She saw a pile of red silk resting on the furs, and wondered how she had not noticed it before. She picked it up warily, letting it hang loose from her grip as she looked at him questioningly, “A dress?” 

She had never been like the noble women at her Father’s court, she didn’t enjoy wearing luxurious dresses in colours that would turn the heads of anyone they passed by. But this one was different, from the colour to the embroidery across the front, it was like what her mother would wear when they were alone in the castle, “It is mine?”, she asked quietly,

“Do you think I would show you another woman’s dress?” Ivar frowned, turning away from Hvitserk to look at her, “Of course it is yours, stupid girl”

Maybe it was who had gifted it to her that changed the way she viewed it, she didn’t know, but she felt the small threat of tears prick at her eyes as she dropped the dress back on the bed and blundered towards Ivar, who had barely the time to steady himself on his crutches as she threw her arms around his neck, scattering kisses across his face, “Who knew you were capable of being kind?”

“Get off”, he snapped, knocking her away from him, “I am always kind. There have been many times I have wished to wrap my hands around your throat, it is a kindness that I do not”

“Your hands are around my throat more than they are around your axe, Ivar”, Elena smirked, craning her neck so he could see where his marks still tainted her skin. Ivar smiled, his teeth baring down into his lower lip as he gazed at the discolouration on her neck. She saw the narrowing of his eyes, the way his tongue slid across his lips as he looked at her, and she kissed him quickly, turning back to the dress before he could act out the desires she saw so clearly in his eyes.

Elena jumped as the slave appeared in front of her suddenly, asking if she would like her help changing into the dress. She nodded quickly, frowning accusingly at Hvitserk as she wondered why the girl looked so unnerved, “Will you braid my hair also?”, she asked, “Like the other women have theirs?”

“No” Ivar barked, interrupting his conversation with Hvitserk once more to look at her, “Keep your hair as it is”

“You always say I look like a thrall. I don’t want to meet a King if I look like I should be serving him”, she said, looking apologetically to girl in front of her, “I should at least have the knots combed out”

Ivar smiled, a genuine smile. It was such rare expression to see that Elena forgot what she was saying, “I like your hair as it is, keep it that way. There is no woman in any land that can surpass your beauty, you do not need to worry about knots in your hair”

 

 

“Elena, this is King Audun of Sweden”

Elena smiled nervously at the strange man in front of her, she was surrounded by unfamiliar faces that all seemed to be staring at her, she wondered if the brightly coloured dress was a bad idea, or if this had been Ivar’s intention all along. 

“This is your woman? The Saxon?”, The King smiled and took her hand in his, bringing it to his mouth and pressing his wet lips against her skin. She forced herself to not flinch, the feel of Ivar’s hand on the small of her back the only thing stopping her from recoiling.

“She is more Viking than many others I know”, Ivar retorted as he guided her down beside him,

“So I have heard”, the King laughed heartily, unbothered by Ivar’s annoyance as he sat back in his seat, “And you have the scars to prove it I believe”

Elena wondered who had spoken to him about her, certainly not Ivar. He kept her and all the little details of her solely to himself, she could tell by the scowl on Ivar’s face that he was thinking the same thing, but the King spoke again before Ivar could confront him as he wished to, 

“Will you be joining us on our raid?”, he asked, eyes still fixated unnervingly on Elena,

“No”

“Yes”

They both spoke at the same time, but Ivar’s glare silenced her before she could argue against him, “She will stay with me, yes”

“Keeping her at your side?”, Audun laughed again, “A wise thing to do, I would not trust leaving a woman like that alone with even my most trusted of men”

Ivar forced a smile, but the dislike was obvious in his eyes, “How many men have you bought?”, he asked, purposely moving the conversation away from Elena, regretting having asked her join them, he should have made her stay in the cabin, 

“200 good warriors”, Audun said, reluctantly turning his gaze back to Ivar and clasping his hands together. Elena turned her attention elsewhere as they began to talk, she watched as the Hall began to slowly fill up. The atmosphere was different tonight and she wondered if it was the upcoming sacrifice that had the air itself thick with feeling. She had never seen a sacrifice before, only heard the descriptions from Ivar and her mother. But even her mother’s descriptions were only of small sacrifices, animal sacrifices. Her mother had never made it to Uppsala, and at Ivar’s insistence, this was to be a human sacrifice. He wanted to placate the Gods, and he wanted all of them to hear him. 

Her shoulders stiffened as Lagertha came to stand beside the table they sat at, holding a large goblet towards her. Elena couldn’t help the small part of her that admired her boldness, she appeared as unafraid of Ivar as she was of Elena herself, and yet she wondered how much of Lagertha’s fearlessness was a pretence. She felt Ivar’s hand gripping her thigh possessively, could feel his glare without looking at him and she placed her own hand on top of his as she warily took the ale from the Queen, 

“Let us drink to Odin for your... _husband’s_ success in this new land, and to Nodr for his safe passage across the seas. Skol”, Elena nodded a quiet ‘Skol’ back and Lagertha smiled smugly as they drank the bitter ale, her piercing eyes flitting to Ivar only for a moment before she walked away.

“And I will drink to Vali”, he snarled, “That he may bring me the revenge I desire and let me watch the life drain from that usurpers face”, his voice was loud enough for Lagertha to still hear him, but if she did she made no acknowledgement of it. 

 

 

The night was dark and bitterly cold as they stood in the sacrificial grove, waiting for the ritual to begin. A chair had been placed at the front of the crowd for Ivar. Elena placed a hand on the back, intending to stand behind him, but he took hold of her wrist and pulled her onto his lap, “Sit”, he muttered, his body was still warm despite the chill of the air and Elena leant back into his chest, savouring the heat that radiated from him, “They will bring the sacrifice soon”, he murmured into her ear, “We will summon the Gods, ask them for their sanction and their guidance on our journey as we present them our offering”

Elena nodded silently as she listened to him, she looked at the faces in the gathering, she saw Hvitserk, his face laden with anticipation and impatience as he stood beside Margrethe. She saw Ubbe’s eyes flick briefly to hers before he turned to the blonde woman himself, snaking his arms around her waist and letting his hands rest on the growing bump under her dress. Then it grew silent, she followed the gazes of the crowd to the borders of the clearing where the people had begun to part, a line of torches along the edges as a young girl walked in between the shoulders of two men. She walked with confidence, her head high and her chest pushed out, but Elena could see the tremble in her lips and shaking in her legs with each step.

“Is she giving herself willingly?”, she whispered to Ivar and heard his quiet chuckle as his arm folded around her waist, his eyes just as fixated on the girl as hers were, “She offered herself as a sacrifice, it does not always mean they are so willing when the time comes”

She was so hypnotised by the girl, the incredibly beautiful girl - she noted, that she didn’t see Lagertha walking with them until she heard Ivar’s low growl. Elena placed a hand on Ivar’s face, turning him to look at her instead of the Queen and pressed her lips against his as a distraction. The feel of his warm mouth against hers sent an unexpected shiver down her spine, and she found herself twisting in his lap and kissing him more fervently, wanting to feel his tongue against hers as she gripped his hair and pushed herself against him. 

She felt him laugh into her lips before he pulled away, holding her jaw between his thumb and forefinger as he pressed his forehead to hers, “I appreciate your want, woman. But you are going to have to wait”, he pointed towards the platform, and Elena stuck her bottom lip out petulantly before turning to watch the scene in front of her. The girl’s wrists had been tied with rope to two poles on either side of her, the fear was clear in her eyes now more than ever, 

“She is so young”, Elena whispered as she stared at her, she couldn’t have been much older than Elena herself, maybe even the same age, and she was certainly more beautiful. Every face in the crowd was fixated on her. 

“It will please the Gods to offer them such a beautiful woman” Ivar murmured, captivated by the way her eye’s widened and her chin trembled, the way her whole body stiffened in terror as Lagertha revealed the blade from under her cloak. He shifted underneath Elena, pushing himself forward as a large clay bowl was placed underneath her on the platform. Elena knew why it was there, she remembered her mother telling her how they would collect the blood from the sacrifice and she gulped involuntarily at the thought. She tried her hardest to look unbothered, she would be the only one there to show any form of revulsion, so she straightened her shoulders, covered Ivar’s hand with her own and forced herself to keep her gaze fixed on Lagertha and the girl behind her. 

“Tonight, under the eyes of the Gods, we ask them to grant our warriors safe passage, to a land not yet explored by our people”, Elena felt goose-bumps rise across her skin as Lagertha’s demanding voice silenced the crowd until only the crackles of torches and the small whimpers from the girl could be heard, “We ask for them to see the fate of our men, and women, come to pass. And so, we offer them this sacrifice”

Lagertha turned to the girl, now visibly weeping as she moved closer. She placed the blade against the pale skin of the girls throat, holding it still as she murmured something inaudible to her, before dragging it laggerdly across her flesh. A terrible gurgling sound emanated from her and though Elena flinched back into Ivar’s chest, she couldn’t tear her eyes away as the dark blood poured freely from the wound.

She could hear Ivar’s heavy breathing even over the sound of the crowd as the girl jerked and twitched, she felt his hand digging into her thigh, the stiffening of his crotch underneath her, but she was as mesmerised as he was. Lagertha held the bowl underneath until the girl’s head hung lifelessly from her shoulders, then Ivar squeezed her thigh, “Watch”, he murmured, his voice thick and rasping. She waited, watching Lagertha as she handed the clay bowl to a man before he carried it around the crowd, waiting as each person placed their hands inside, muttering quiet prayers to the Gods as they left red smears across their faces. 

Ivar shifted as the man drew closer and Elena looked at him uncertainly, waiting for instruction. The bowl was placed in front of them and Ivar immediately leant his body around Elena and immersed his fingers, his eyes wide and aphrodisiacal as the liquid dripped from his skin. She stayed, expecting to watch as he painted his face with the blood of the sacrifice, but instead he turned to look at her. His fingers brushed across her forehead and down her cheeks, the blood was still warm as he coloured her skin and she shivered at the sensation. He ran his fingers across her lips before pushing them inside her mouth and she instinctively closed her lips around them once more, her tongue swirling around the tips as she licked the blood from his calloused skin, smirking as he gasped and his hips bucked unintentionally underneath her. 

Elena followed his lead, and as he slowly pulled his fingers from her mouth she dipped her two hands inside the bowl, pressing them against his forehead, dragging them over his eyes and down his face. His breathing had turned into quiet, but laboured pants and he grabbed her wrists, taking her fingers into his mouth one by one and a shiver went up her spine as his tongue trailed around her palm. His desire for her became so overwhelming he dropped her hands and grabbed the back of her neck as he pushed her face into his and slammed his lips into hers, knocking the wind from her lungs. Elena was panting breathlessly by the time he pulled away and she whimpered pitifully at the loss of his touch. She clawed at the neck of his tunic, wishing she had the strength to rip it from his body.

“Do you see how they look at you? How they envy me?”, he murmured, nodding to the crowd behind them, many engrossed in similar encounters to them, but as Elena turned she saw glances in her direction, many she knew because of Ivar, and the way his hand was making its way up her dress unapologetically, but then she saw King Audun, and his two sons, leering brazenly at her, their dark eyes creeping over her now exposed leg and she had to turn away, “I would rather some didn’t look”, she muttered, picking the goblet of ale that rested near Ivar’s feet, spluttering as she attempted to drink it in the way she had seen Ivar and his brothers do.

She didn’t know how much she had drank so far, but she knew her head felt light and her eyes felt heavy. Everyone around her was now celebrating, drinking and laughing, and she wondered if Ivar wanted to be doing the same, if he wanted her to get off him even though his hand was still kneading her inner thigh shamelessly, so close to her sex she could feel the faint brush of his fingers against it with each movement. She turned to look at him and saw he was staring back, a curious look in his narrowed eyes, “What is it?”, she couldn’t stifle her giggle at the expression on his blood-stained face, reminding her of their nights travelling across England and the way he looked when he would come back to her after battle. 

“I have been thinking”, he said, leaning back in the chair, both his touch and gaze unrelenting. She looked to him questioningly as she waited for him to continue, 

“I will let you come with me”, he said eventually, “To stay in the camps with the other women as you wish, but only”, He pressed a finger against her lips as she opened her mouth to speak, “Only, if you swear to the Gods you will not leave, and you will look after only yourself if anything should happen, you do not come looking for me, No matter what”,  
She bit down on her lip to repress her smile, she would swear to his Gods if that was what he wished, they were not yet hers and she would promise nothing except that she would not leave without him at her side. She nodded quickly, a little too quickly. Ivar saw the look on her face, and he knew a lie when he saw one, especially from her, even if it was not said out loud, “Women may not be ruled by men here, but I am not just any man, and you will listen to me. If you disobey me, you will be punished”

“Is that supposed to be a threat?”, she giggled, pushing herself against his stilled hand. She could see the seriousness in his face, but the ale in her system clouded her judgement, and she cared little for the consequences of laughing at Ivar, “You know how I enjoy my punishments”

Ivar glared up at her, unamused, “You will not like the punishment I give out. You will wish you had stayed in England with your Father and the son of a whore who tried to claim your hand”

Elena coughed and shifted uncomfortably, feeling suddenly sober at the mention of her Father and Godric. She changed the subject, desperate to get away from any talks of her life back in England, the thought of her Father still pained her, “You are worried it will go wrong?”, she asked quietly, wondering what Ivar had meant.

Ivar laughed, his hand continuing its teasing ascent in between her legs “No. The Gods favour me. This day, and every day to come. I am not worried. It is me the Gods watch now, no other man. Odin will see my fate come to pass”


End file.
